Hyrule Warriors: Xtreme Legends
by ZombieAxeHero
Summary: Long after Cia and Ganondorf's defeat, Hyrule is again threatened by an ancient evil, coinciding with the appearance of the mysterious Skull Kid. Alongside his numerous comrades, Link sets out through various eras of Hyrule in the hopes of vanquishing this new mastermind of chaos, unaware of the powers manipulating their quest and the spirit that has latched itself onto him.
1. Sentiments

CHAPTER ONE

**Sentiments**

As he had many times before, Link awoke in the dead of night with the distressing images of his dream still fresh in his mind. Nothing he tried could wipe it away. She was there…suffering before his blade. He had to strike her down, but when he did, it felt like he had punched a hole in his own heart.

"Why did she…oh, good goddesses…"

He lowered his face into his open palms and rose to his feet, walking slowly out of his bedroom and through the halls of the majestic Hyrule Castle. He contemplated his living quarters. Very spacious and comfortable, a far cry from the barracks he had been used to in his days as a trainee. A knight was only gifted a bedroom in the castle itself under special circumstances, and Link had indeed lived up to that.

Even if one of the acts was still haunting him to this day.

"Damn…"

He found himself out on the grand balcony overlooking the luscious field that connected all of Hyrule. He thought back to his days as a trainee and the thought that he'd never get the oppourtunity to go out and see the world for himself. Not because he had been afraid of the world, but more not being good enough a knight to go out and do it.

Knights in training weren't allowed to leave the castle without permission from a higher-up whether it was General Impa or Princess Zelda herself. Zelda was always preoccupied with something else and usually never had time for trainees, and Impa (while fair and kind when she needed to be) didn't trust these young men to handle themselves in the outside world until they proved themselves. Link himself had done so fairly quickly, but in a way none of them had ever expected. He'd been reckless and charged out onto the battlefield without any order. He'd been a hero, and as he thought about the green tunic and flowing blue scarf he had hanging in his bedroom, he knew he wasn't just any hero.

No. He'd been the hero that Cia had to go and become obsessed with.

"Cia…" he muttered to himself.

He sighed again and let his hands drop onto the banister. He thanked the goddesses themselves for what came next so he wouldn't sink into another bout of depression.

"Link?"

Link turned his head toward the soft voice and focused his gaze on the nightgown-garbed woman stepping lightly toward him. In his mind, he sighed at this beautiful sight, and in reality, he cleared his throat and nodded at her.

"Um…good evening, milady."

She smiled and crossed her arms with her brow raised.

"When it's just the two of us?"

Link sighed and let a smile make its way to his lips.

"Zelda."

The princess nodded in approval and stepped gracefully toward him. The silver gown trailed behind her and gave the illusion of her gliding along the ground like a spirit, her slender and soft arms draped at her sides before she raised one and brushed her fingertips against Link's warm cheek. He shivered at her touch. She was oddly affectionate for a politician. Hyrule naturally had a boatload of senators that cared more about how the country was run than the people themselves. Zelda was nothing like that, and perhaps that was what made the people love her as well as what made Hyrule's enemies see her as weak.

At least until she pulled her rapier on them and showed them how skilled a warrior she was. She learned from the best, after all.

"That's better." she said. "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean?"  
>"I heard you tossing around in your sleep again. You've been having nightmares for a good while now."<p>

Link lowered his gaze before finally looking away at the horizon. In the far distance in the direction he was looking, there lay the Valley of Seers, within which was the Temple of Souls. A strange and twisted realm that had an ironic beauty to it, but that wasn't why Link was thinking about it.

"It's about Cia, isn't it?" Zelda asked.

Link nodded. Not long ago, the sorceress known as Cia had waged war against Hyrule, wanting to take the Triforce for herself and for what? To have Link at her side. It was a disturbing thought for him, but the fact that she was willing to do anything to have him and how he ultimately had run her through forced up guilt in his heart. He felt terrible every time he thought of her. All she wanted was his love, and he had killed her for it.

"I regret what I did every single day. I just wish that things could have been different."

"You did what you had to do, Link. No one blames you for it. Not me, not Impa, not even Lana."

Lana was another thing entirely. She'd been the one most hurt by the loss of Cia, for the two had been the same being at one point. When Cia faded away, it was like Lana had lost her dearest friend. Had the goodness not been forced from Cia's heart and manifested itself as Lana, maybe she wouldn't have had to die. It wasn't Cia's fault. No one could fault her for wanting to be in love despite her duties. The one truly at fault was gone from the world, but not from Link's mind.

"I'll never forgive Ganondorf for what he did to her."

"No one will ever forgive Ganondorf for anything." replied Zelda. "He was to blame for all that happened, not you."

"I know…how do you think Lana's doing right about now?"

"I'm not sure, but I imagine she's fine."

"Yeah, but…she's in that temple all by herself watching over the fabric of time itself for as long as it runs. I don't know for sure considering I haven't got a clue how it works, but…that sounds like the loneliest thing in the world."

"Perhaps, but I suppose one must put their duties before themselves."

Link smiled and looked over at her as the two of them leaned against the banister.

"Like you?"

Zelda gave him that beautiful smile that melted him every single time. He didn't know how he managed to stay depressed in front of her for even a few minutes when he knew she could wipe out that wonderful trump card at any second.

"There's the cheerful soldier I know!" she chirped. "Tell you what. When we have time, why don't we go visit her?"

"Really?"

"Of course. I'm sure she's fine, but she's our friend. She could use it. Call it a date."

"Uh…"

Zelda laughed.

"Kidding."

Link found himself laughing as well, but stopped when she suddenly pulled him into a soft hug. He always sort of figured that a girl like her would be up for something like that, but he also figured she'd reserve that for family. Then he remembered: she had no family. Zelda's mother died of sickness when Zelda herself was about five years old, and her father was killed in action no more than a few years ago. By Hylian law, she couldn't be unmarried and a Queen of Hyrule, so that quickly meant that all her fellow bureaucrats could take advantage of her fairly easily. In fact, the only person she really had as family was Impa, who on top of being a Hylian general had been her caretaker since her childhood and had loved her like an older sister or even a mother. Impa. The toughest woman Link knew, and judging from how hard yet fair she was with her underlings, he didn't expect her to show too much affection to Zelda publicly.

At least Zelda remembered her mother and father in wonderful and lengthy detail. Link just barely remembered his own parents, and not every memory was something he wanted to keep in mind.

"If you ever need someone to talk to," Zelda whispered. "You can always come find me, okay?"

Link parted from her just enough that he could gaze into her soft eyes. He felt lost in them almost right away, but managed a warm smile and a nod.

"I will…thank you, Zelda."

"My pleasure. Now, we should both get to sleep. I hear you're taking your two trainees out for a Musou test in the Faron Woods."

A Musou, or Unlimited, test was essentially a training exercise for the most promising soldiers. As a newly instated lieutenant, Link had two trainees, and the three of them would have to work together in the test to accomplish a specific task whether it be capturing a point on the battlefield or taking down a specific enemy officer while literally hundreds upon hundreds of hostiles came at them at once. It was intended as a test of endurance and cooperation, and only a small handful of Hylian soldiers ever completed it, Link and Impa being among them. Just getting the honor of taking part in the test would cement the two trainees as hardened warriors. If they completed the test, they'd be something far greater.

"Yeah." Link said. "I'm still kinda aching from my own Musou test. Plowed through all of the spectres without a problem, but it was quite a workout."

"Way to not flaunt your accomplishments like a stuck-up fool." Zelda chuckled.

"Uhh…"

"Kidding."

They shred another soft laugh and another warm hug before they bade each other good-night. As Link returned to his quarters and tucked himself in, he let the sour thoughts of Cia slip from his mind and anticipated the coming trial from his understudies. Link knew deep down that they would do their best tomorrow and prove that they could be knights of the highest caliber.

Then he thought of Lana. A bright and cheery young girl on the outside, but on the inside a force dedicated to the upholding of justice. It had been quite a long time since he'd seen her, and with the journey the two of them had gone together with Zelda and Impa and mighty warriors from many different eras of time, there was no way he'd ever forget. The warriors themselves were truly marvels. Darunia…Ruto…Midna…Agitha…Fi. They were legends in the present, and to fight alongside them was an honor and a thrill.

"In fact…I wouldn't mind doing it again."

With that, he slept, but something kept itching at him from the inside. Something dark…something that wasn't willing to let go of him…something he thought he'd seen the last of.

"Oh, my dear Link…surely you must know I'm not finished with you yet."

* * *

><p><em><strong>After playing Hyrule Warriors for a while, it was only inevitable that I came up with something like this. This story actually stems from two issues I had with Hyrule Warriors itself. 1: the story is honestly kinda crap. Granted, with a game like that, gameplay is vastly more important, but I just can't shake the feeling that it could have been really good if the game didn't focus so much on fanservice. 2: Since it only covers Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword (though Majora's Mask characters are being added as DLC), there were a ton and a half of characters they didn't use that I really wanted. We got Darunia and Ruto, but not Saria and Nabooru. We got Fi and Ghirahim, but not Groose. I'm aiming to throw in as many characters as I can from a ton of different Zelda games without it feeling too crowded, so you'll see characters from Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, A Link Between Worlds etc. Who knows? We may even see some guest characters from other Nintendo games.<strong>_

**_Still, though, if you're a Zelda or Dynasty Warriors fan and don't have Hyrule Warriors, I highly recommend picking it up. It's a blast. And with that said, on with the show!_**

**_...at some point, since I am procrastination incarnate._**


	2. Examination

CHAPTER TWO

**Examination**

"Right on time, you two! Just what I like to see!" Link called as the two figures approached him.

The day was absolutely perfect for such an occasion as this, and the two trainees Mako and Shanya looked ready for action as they strode toward Link, who was now dressed in his trademark attire. They came to a smooth halt in front of him, both looking so different that one would never assume the two were comrades.

Mako was a rather curious case. He never wore the standard-issue chainmail tunic during his training for several reasons. Some (like possibly drying him out due to him being a Zora) were logical, while others (like him thinking it made him look "tacky") weren't as such. The only thing he did wear was a necklace decorated with Gyorg teeth and a pair of waterproof pants that were supposedly made from the hide of a massive Dodongo his father had slain. In fact, the very weapons he carried were the two large hunting knives that had been used to kill the beast. There was one thing that made Mako particularly noteworthy, however: he joined the Hylian army so he could have a chance to meet and train alongside Link himself.

Shanya, on the other hand, was garbed in a dark flowing cloak, leather pants and boots shaping out from underneath the hem. The cloak's hood obscured most of her face with only her mouth and chin visible. Even then, it hardly made a difference for she never spoke to anyone, thus making it a wonder that she was even properly enlisted in the first place. Perhaps her fighting ability had something to do with it, for she wielded a massive scythe that was even longer than she was high. She seemed more experienced than Mako, which was fortunate since she was a great help to him when he was just starting out. Judging from the symbols on her cloak and her lightly tanned skin, Link was suspicious of her being a Gerudo. He wasn't certain. He'd only met one Gerudo, and that had been Ganondorf. The least said about that, the better.

"You're looking a little jumpy, Mako." Said Link with a smirk. "Nervous?"

"Nervous? You kidding?!" beamed Mako. "I'm hyped, man! I can't wait to get in there and just let loose!"

"Easy there, rough rider. It's not gonna be easy."

"Easy, schmeasy. Is it gonna be a fun workout, that's what I wanna know."

Link laughed. Such enthusiasm from his trainee reminded the emerald-clad knight a lot of himself. Whether that was good or bad was up for debate, but it was definitely good that he had a lot of energy packed in that single body of his.

"Good to hear. You ready, then?"

"You bet!" Mako whooped.

"And you, Shanya?"

Shanya did little more than nod, her lips cracked in an admittedly cute smile from Mako's enthusiasm. For being the only thing that Link could see on her, it did at the very least let him know she wasn't the emotionless brute a lot of the other soldiers thought she was. Nevertheless, it was the answer Link was looking for.

"Before we head out, though, I'll give the little disclaimer right now. You both understand that there's going to be literally hundreds upon hundreds of enemies coming after you at once, right? You know, all the kinds of things that will tire you out really quickly if you aren't properly prepared?"

They nodded, and Link now noticed how swollen Mako's muscles were. Come to think of it, he'd heard shouts coming from the courtyard the previous night, and while he normally would have gone to investigate, he concluded that they were battle cries fairly quickly. It was safe to say that even though he was enthusiastic, the young Zora was taking this challenge before him very seriously.

"Okay." said Link. "But remember: while I want you to give it your all and come out on top, your safety is my primary concern while we're in there. If either of you gets too tired to keep going, we can fall back and try again another day. Understood?"

"Got it." said Mako. "Let's do it!"

"Alright then, troops! Let's move out!"

* * *

><p>When they finally reached the mouth of the forest, they took the time to admire its various beauties. There were the trees, some of which stretched as high as Hyrule Castle's tallest tower. There was a river rushing underneath a large rope bridge, and the three could see a treetop village from a distance, ravaged slightly from its past assault by the spider-like creature Gohma.<p>

Neither Mako nor Shanya had any way of knowing or even much in the notion of caring, but Link remembered now that this had been where he met Lana for the first time. It hadn't even been that long ago now that he thought about it, and the more he thought about her, the more he wanted to head off to see her. She'd proven to be a keen ally in the previous war, and even though their time together hadn't been long, Link knew that fighting without her would take some getting used to.

"So where are these guys at?" Mako asked. "They don't honestly wanna keep us waiting, do they?"

"They generate in random places every time to mix things up a little bit." said Link. "It's also so we'll be wandering around for a while before they suddenly appear when we have our guard down."

Mako smiled over his shoulder at Shanya.

"Well, we got ourselves a little edge, don't we?"

Shanya nodded and pressed her hands to her temples. This sorceress seemed to know no bounds, yet when hard-pressed for information regarding it, she said nothing. Even when Link told her that he needed to know what caused it so he could fully trust her, she responded by simply taking a piece of parchment and writing "There's some things people can't explain, even about themselves". An enigmatic answer from a very enigmatic woman and a rather exaggerated way of telling someone to stop pestering them about something, but at least Link got the tiny feeling she was honest about it.

She searched for any sign of ethereal movement, parting her lips slightly and taking in a deep breath as she did so. After a few long and uncomfortable moments of silence, Mako stepped forward with his hand outstretched to see if she hadn't fallen asleep or something of the sort when her head all of a sudden snapped up. Mako yelped and leapt backward.

"Jeez, Shanya, don't do that!" he half-shouted. "I'm a mortal man, y'know!"

One corner of Shanya's mouth turned up in mild amusement, and though neither Link nor Mako could be certain, they had a feeling she had rolled her eyes at her Zora companion. Nevertheless, she nodded and Link and pointed westward.

"You're sure?" he asked.

She nodded again.

"Alright, then. Let's get moving. Both of you keep a good hold on your weapons."

They dashed off in the direction Shanya had pointed, the forest animals scattering the second the three came charging by. Their chests heaving and their legs pumping hard, they kept on running until Shanya held up her hand and signalled them to stop.

"Right here?" Link asked.

Shanya nodded. Before them lay the ramp leading into the treetop village. With a good deal of space as well as numerous keeps, it was a perfect training ground, though it was very depressing to think that this used to be a beautiful village that got ransacked.

Now wasn't the time to ponder on such thoughts. As they completed their crossing of the ramp, a light breeze rushed through the wood, accompanied by several disembodied growls and shouts. The trainees kept their hands firmly on their weapons as Link asked of them, and the second there was movement, they tensed their grips. At last, numerous humanoid figures phased into existence, blank-eyed and translucent white in hue. The moment they saw the three heroes before them, the one at the front of the pack drew its sword, raised it into the air, and let out a loud war cry. The others followed suit, and they charged.

"Okay, you two! This is it!" Link shouted enthusiastically. "Hit 'em hard and don't hold back!"

"Yeah, baby!" Mako cheered as he wrenched his hunting knives out of their sheaths. "LET'S ROCK!"

And with their weapons drawn, the three lunged forward. Link began the carnage, reeling up his signature spin attack and letting it loose with such a force that it sent the closest ten spectres flying off in different directions. He raised his shield, the ghostly sword of his next target clanging against the metal surface before he countered with a mighty stab. Two spectres swung horizontally at him from different heights, but this proved fruitless when Link vaulted between the two blades and landed squarely between his attackers, kicking one and slashing the other. A mighty jumping slash and shield bash later, and he'd cleared a way to the nearest garrison.

"This way!" he yelled, pointing his sword toward it.

"Right behind ya!" Mako called right before he got swarmed. "Ah, crap, gimme a second."

He locked blades with the closest spectre and pushed it back, and from there it was a rhythmic and ridiculously fast stream of slashes as Mako decimated all before him. With one quick flurry of stabs, he kicked off of one spectre's chest and launched himself a good distance into the air, and with one cocky grin, he came down like a meteor, striking the ground and sending up a tsunami-like shockwave that quite literally drowned out the competition. As he landed, he pulled off a triumphant pose that in any other circumstance would have resulted in him taking far too many hits than was healthy for him.

"And that's how it's done!" he shouted.

As they entered the occupied garrison, it was now Shanya's turn to shine, and she didn't disappoint. As the spectres rushed toward the trio, she cut to the front and took a massive swing with her scythe. The wave of energy that blasted from it added to its powerful swing, and when she caught one of the spectres on the crescent blade, she spun it over her shoulders and threw it into its comrades like a bowling ball.

"Heads up, Shanya!" Mako called. "Archers on the battlements!"

Already taken care of. Shanya reeled back and threw her scythe as hard as she could while keeping her right hand aiming at it as it spun rapidly in mid-air. Using whatever forces she commanded, she kept the scythe flying around the battlements, striking each and every archer before returning it to her hands and turning to smile at her comrades. To say the least, they were impressed.

"Uh…yeah, that works." said Mako. "I mean, you could let me just climb up there and take 'em out or hell. Link's got his bow, but…yeah. Flying scythe of spinning doom. A much better alternative."

He got a playful punch on the shoulder in response before Link stepped in to resume command.

"This'll be our base!" Link said sternly. "If the enemy gets a hold of it, we're down for the count! One of you needs to stay here and protect it!"

"Sure as hell ain't gonna be me!" replied Mako. "You mind, Shanya?"

Shanya again smirked and (presumably) rolled her eyes, but nonetheless positioned herself in the center of the keep. She pressed her hands to her temples and focused, and within moments, a shadowy aura generated within the keep's walls. Any enemy foolish enough to enter without the proper defense would be steadily eaten away by its curse while Link and Mako could enter and exit as they pleased. Definitely a worthy defense.

"Perfect!" said Link. "That leaves the two of us to build up our defenses and hunt down the commander!"

"Gotcha!" said Mako. "I'll take the left bridge! Let's tear this place up!"

And they were off, slashing through the mob of spectres as if they were nothing. Mako hopped from massive branch to massive branch while Link took a detour into a tunnel leading through a gargantuan tree in the very center of the battlefield. His eyes adjusted quickly and spotted several spectres lunging at him from the side. He ducked and rolled forward, the spectres not realizing that he had dropped a bomb between them until it was too late. As he exited the tunnel, cutting through the stray Skulltula webs that hindered him, Link spotted Mako brawling like the energetic youth he was. It did Link's heart good to see Mako plow through the spectres, slashing and even kicking a few of them off the branches and down the ground far below without so much as breaking a sweat. It made him feel as proud as a teacher could be.

But of course, students were bound to make tiny mistakes once in a while. Mako performed a spin attack that rid him off some unwanted attention, but failed to notice the one stray spectre vaulting down from the tree with its blade raised. Luckily, Link had noticed it long before then and whipped out his trusty bow. With a loaded arrow ready to go in a second, he drew the string back as far as it would go and let it fly. The arrow struck the spectre in the chest and sent it hurtling over the side. Mako only now noticed his intended attacker and looked over at Link putting away his bow.

"Always got my back, eh?" Mako called with a smile and a thumbs-up.

"Always." Link said back, returning the gesture. "Remember to keep your guard up, though. Even for things you can't see."

They kept moving, eventually rejoining at the next ramp that circled around the massive tree. As they rounded the corner, four particularly large spectres materialized from nowhere. As Mako prepared to lunge for them, Link held out his arm and blocked him. A decent idea, since numerous plates of steel suddenly dropped from above, each spectre drawing in a fair amount of pieces each before they stood before the two heroes clad in thick black armour with circular shields and massive broadswords at their disposal.

"Be careful!" said Link. "Even if they're fake, you don't wanna mess around with Darknuts!"

They certainly didn't what with all four of the dark knights swinging at the same time, the sound as the blades cut through the air ringing loud and deep. Link raised his shield and blocked the heavy strikes one right after the other, bashing his shield forward on the last strike and dealing a critical blow to the Darknut in front of him. Mako meanwhile wasn't quite so subtle, moving quickly and stylishly around the swings of the other three dark knights until one of them faked him out.

As Mako sadly fell for it and made the dodge, the Darknut reared up its armour-clad foot and slammed it into Mako's unprotected stomach. The Zora youth went sprawling backward as he hit the ground with a loud grunt of pain, very nearly sliding off the pathway in the process. As the Darknut made another move toward Mako, Link jumped between them and blocked with his shield while giving Mako a stern look.

"What did I just say?!" he said.

"Sorry. Heat of the moment, y'know?"

Once Mako was back on his feet, things went a little smoother. One Darknut swung inward, Link parrying the blow for a few moments while looking for the oppourtunity to strike. Once he found it, he stabbed and delivered a successful strike. Mako too waited for the right moment when his target raised its sword to swing at him, he seized the knight's shoulder and stabbed its chest once. Twice. Three times. Again and again before kicking it away and sending it into a freefall toward the ground far below, leaving Mako and Link to team up against the final Darknut who slammed his blade against the ground. The blade conjured a large shockwave, but with Link strafing to the side and running along the trunk of the tree they stood on, he quickly closed the distance between himself and the knight and finished it off with a single powerful slash.

"Piece a' cake!" Mako cheered. "…except for the whole me getting hit in the gut thing…"

Link smirked and lightly punched his student's arm.

"Don't worry about it. Remember: you learn from failure. Now let's keep moving. The enemy base should be just ahead."

Mako nodded before pressing a finger to his forehead and closing his eyes. Link looked on in confusion for brief moment before asking what anyone else would have: "What are you doing?" The response he got was nothing short of strange.

"I'm checking in with Shanya to see how our base is doing."

"What, do you two have a telepathic link or something?"

"Hey, when you train together with someone for as long as I have with her, you kinda grow attached."

"How come she never speaks to me, then?"

"I dunno. I guess she doesn't like you."

Link raised an eyebrow and it didn't occur to him that Mako was joking until he saw the young Zora smirk. Link rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. What's she saying?"

"She says there's a lot of ghosts around the base, but it's nothing she can't handle."

"Good. Let's get moving."

They proceeded, slashing away at the spectres idiotic enough to get in their way. Link took a good look over at Mako as they kept moving upward. He took in the bright smile, the loud cheers of excitement, and the sheer amount of energy in his fighting style. Not unlike a younger and less experienced Link. In fact, Link imagined that he would still be much like Mako had he not seen such terrible things and met such horrible people in his time. Wizzro, Zant, Ghirahim, Ganondorf absolutely, and…

No. Cia hadn't been a bad person. She'd just been…horribly obsessed.

He shook it off. Now wasn't the time to think about such things. They had arrived at the keep at the top of the tree. At first glance, it appeared empty, but even the inexperienced Mako knew that things weren't always what they seemed.

But did he have to demonstrate this is such an obnoxious manner?

"Gee!" he called loudly. "I sure am glad there isn't anything in here! Looks like we can just take the keep without a hitch!"

And as expected, something materialized in the very center on the keep: a tall and muscular figure drenched in shadows with a battered cape trailing behind it, a horned helmet on its head, and a massive sword in its right hand. Link scowled the moment he got a good look at it

"Hey, isn't that…" Mako started.

It wasn't, but that didn't stop Link from lunging headlong at the phantom with his blade raised high over his head. In response, the phantom faded into an incorporeal form and strafed to the side, slashing at the green-clad knight upon reappearing. The ghostly blade clanged against Link's shield, rattling his bones and pushing him backward slightly as he glared at the blade's wielder who let out a loud and maniacal laugh. It lifted off into the air, floating there for a moment as four identical copies generated by its side, each one generating a sphere of azure energy in their palms.

"You familiar with dead man's volley, Mako?" Link asked sternly.

"What's that?"

"That's a no. Just keep your wits about you, or this is gonna get really ugly."

Without any hesitation, the five Phantom Ganons cast their projectiles. While Mako successfully avoided three of the five, Link slashed at the remaining two with enough force to reflect them both. One ricocheted far off course while the other shot straight back at Phantom Ganon, who also slashed and reflected it just as his copies tossed more into the mix.

"I got you covered, Link! Don't you worry about a thing!" Mako shouted.

"In all honesty, that's what makes me a tad bit worried." Link thought a bit sourly.

Link kept himself in a loop of reflecting the bolt over and over again while Mako kept the copies busy chasing him all about the garrison. As the copies lunged in for the kill, Mako ducked into a fighting stance and prepared a spin attack when…

"What the…where'd they go?!"

It was true. The four had simply vanished without a single trace, disappointing Mako in that he didn't get to use his epic attack as well as the fact that he had to wait until they showed up again before he could continue his assault. And if anyone knew a thing about Mako, they knew he hated waiting no matter how much it benefitted him.

"Dammit, where are you, you scum?!" he shouted.

And then they reappeared, surrounding him with their blades raised high and ready to tear him apart. The young Zora demonstrated his supreme athletic skills as he blocked and dodged the blades to the best of his ability, but as he slashed downward toward one phantom's head, it seized him by the neck, hauled him upward, and slammed him down hard. Seeing his trainee take such a beating was enough to make Link lose focus for a single fraction of a second, which was all the true Phantom Ganon needed to send the energy sphere back one last time and strike the young hero in the chest.

"Crap…" he growled. "I'm losing my edge here…"

With both of the heroes temporarily grounded, Phantom Ganon raised its sword, the blade flashing several times in succession before at least a couple hundred spectres appeared before their very eyes. The massive hoard, however, paid no attention to the two of them, and that was what worried them as the hundreds of spectres piled out of the garrison with their summoner in hot pursuit.

"Oh, no, they're heading for the base!" Link shouted. "Mako, get up!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Mako panted.

They started after the massive army, slashing at the spectres taking up the rear and generally trying their hardest to reduce their numbers as much as they could before the spectres reached Shanya. That wasn't to say Link nor Mako doubted Shanya's abilities (especially with her weapon of choice being excellent for crowd control), but with the army's commander among them and his perceived resistance to the barrier of darkness protecting the base, Shanya was going to have one painful time trying to hold it.

Mako especially felt angered by this sudden turn of events. He hadn't gone through all that training and made all those promises to his family that he was going to become the greatest Zora warrior that ever lived just to fall flat on his face now. He and Link kept slashing, taking down a fair amount of the spectres but not nearly enough to prevent a total onslaught. They began to panic as the army drew closer to the base, Shanya exiting it and standing to defend it with her scythe prepped but clearly showing signs of feeling overwhelmed, particularly when Phantom Ganon cast an energy sphere backward and tripped Link up.

At last, Mako saw no other alternative.

"Link, I know you never told me to use this unless I absolutely needed to, but I'll be damned if I don't gotta do it."

Link smirked (after he'd rubbed the dirt from his face). He knew just what Mako was talking about, and despite how risky it could be for the young Zora, he wasn't about to object when there was a ghostly semi-clone of Ganondorf threatening to bring their base crashing down.

"Alright! Go for it!"

Mako planted his feet firmly against the ground and drew in a deep breath, focusing all his internal energy and letting the adrenaline consume him. As it built up to an unparalleled peak, a light-blue aura appeared around him before he slammed his fists together and generated a massive echo.

"FOCUS SPIRIT!" he bellowed.

And he was off, his speed increasing exponentially to the point where he was running through the middle of the ghostly army. The spectres fell in droves at his feet before he took one giant leap at Phantom Ganon. Alas, even with his heightened speed and senses under the influence of the Focus Spirit, Phantom Ganon effortlessly blocked his attacks. Granted, it didn't manage to land a hit on Mako, but it certainly didn't slow its pursuit towards Shanya. Shanya herself reeled back and launched upward, crossing blades and slashing repeatedly at each other while suspended in mid-air. Shanya didn't manage to land a single hit, whereas Phantom Ganon palm-struck her once she'd left herself too open. She hit the ground, rolling head-over-heels until she finally came to a stop as her back slammed against the wall of the base. What a time for Mako to come flying at the chief spectre again.

"You're gonna eat it now, sucker!"

Somebody ate something, and that was sadly Mako eating Phantom Ganon's fist in his face, and he too hit the ground and slid for a while before coming to a stop and wondering what he'd done to deserve this.

"Oh, yeah…" he thought. "That."

Phantom Ganon raised its hands, a massive red sphere of energy appearing and steadily growing larger the longer he held it. With the two trainees too weakened to get up right away (Mako in particular when the effects of his Focus Spirit ran out), it seemed there was no way for them to defend themselves as Phantom Ganon cast the sphere and slashed it, causing it to separate into several smaller spheres quickly approaching them from all angles.

There was just one fatal error in Phantom Ganon's "foolproof" assault: it forgot that there was a third person trying to kill it, and that third person had jumped between it and its targets just in time to deliver a spin attack strong enough to launch every single sphere back at it at lightning speed. As the spheres slammed into the spectre, it let out a shout of pain as it collapsed. Link heaved his two trainees to their feet and shook them to their senses.

"Don't you two go quittin' on me now!" he said. "This is it!"

Mako stumbled about in a dazed state for a few moments before looking up like the impact had been nothing.

"Who's talkin' about quitting?" he asked.

"You when you didn't get up right away. You gotta stay resilient at all times."

"LOOK OUT!"

The Zora youth shoved his commanding officer out of the way just in time to block Phantom Ganon's sudden attack. He shoved, knocking the spectre's sword arm backward. Phantom Ganon swung downward as hard as it could at its Zora opponent, unable to defend itself when Shanya zipped in and took one massive swing at the sword. The force of the swing knocked the blade out of the spectre's hand, leaving him wide open for the finishing blow.

"Let's finish him off as a team, you two!" Link hollered. "Time for a Chain Attack!"

"Yeah, baby!" Mako cheered. "Yo, Shanya! Will you do the honours?"

Shanya didn't need to be told twice. She spun her scythe, catching Phantom Ganon in the curve of the blade and tossing it headlong at Link. Link continued the attack with a jumping spin attack, delivering several slashes to Phantom Ganon that propelled it upward before Link struck him back down with his shield.

"MAKO! FINISH HIM!"

"YOU GOT IT!"

With one single flip, Mako launched himself over Phantom Ganon and impaled it through the chest, letting gravity do the rest as they plummeted back down to the ground. The spectre writhed about in agony, screaming and bucking against Mako's knives in its chest as the Zora warriors smirked at his victory.

"Too late." he said as he pulled his knives from the spectre, spun them around his fingers, and sheathed them in a flashy display. "Game over, pal!"

At last, Phantom Ganon gave up the struggle and collapsed lifeless, melting into a mere shadow that crept away along the ground. At last, all was still and quiet within the forest yet again. Satisfied, Mako and Shanya turned to their commanding officer and awaited their results.

"So, uh…" Mako started, suddenly overcome with anxiousness. "How did we do?"

Link stroked his chin after sheathing his blade, deliberately making them tense as they awaited their judgment. He knew how stressful their preparations had been, but he needed to be 100% honest. No matter how much he liked them, he had to be honest.

"Well, there were flaws." he started, immediately catching a downcast look from Mako and even a light twitch from Shanya. "One or two major ones. Mako, you were far too reckless. I know that's your style and all, but your image isn't nearly as important as your life. Shanya, while you fight pretty well, your melee fighting style leaves a lot of openings and judging from that last throw down, you're definitely ill-suited to one-on-one combat. You both have weaknesses that you won't be able to compensate for very easily."

Mako stared down at the ground, his hand fidgeting and his lips starting to quiver. How? How could this happen? He'd tried so hard. He'd trained for months on end to be the best warriors he could be, and in the end, this was the best he could do?

Just then, Link smiled and clapped one hand on Mako's shoulder and another on Shanya's.

"At least not by yourselves." he continued. "But you both made up for it with the most vital thing one can have on the battlefield: teamwork. You both divided up tasks adequately. Shanya, your magical attacks were perfectly-suited for defense purposes. And Mako, you may have been reckless, but it was your offensive capabilities and mastery of the Focus Spirit that kept our base from getting stormed. And yes. That Chain Attack was executed perfectly. Each move flowed right into the other."

"So does that mean…"

Link nodded and reached into his pockets and produced two satin scarves, much like the blue one trailing behind him save for one being fire-red and the other leaf-green. As Link offered them to his trainees, they felt themselves fill with excitement, their fingers tingling as they brushed the tips against the scarves.

"Symbols of true knighthood." he said. "I heard through the grapevine that these were your favourite colors, so I made sure they were made to suit the two of you perfectly. Here, put them on. I kinda wanna see how they look on you."

With Mako taking the red one and Shanya taking the green one, they donned them in their own unique manners with Make wrapping his around his torso like a belt and Shnaya tightening hers around her waist like a corset. Link smiled at the sight.

"Just as I thought." he said. "They look perfect. Congratulations, you two."

The two couldn't hold back their happiness. While Shnaya merely smiled and pressed a hand to her heart in gratitude, Mako leaped all about, pumping his fists in joy.

"BOO-YAH!" he cheered. "Oh, man, this is so awesome!"

"Easy there, buddy." Link laughed. "This is just the beginning."

"Tell you the truth, that's what I'm…"

Mako didn't finish his sentence when there came a sudden rustling of leaves. The three looked all about, not saying a word or making a sound. Fearing the worst, Link started to reach for his sword, and when the sound came again from directly behind them, he and his two companions readied their weapons and looked toward the source. Their discovery, however, was quite unusual.

"Hi there!" said the child-like creature sitting on the nearby branch.

He was an odd little thing, garbed in a red tunic and pointed red shoes with green gloves on his tiny hands. The only bit of skin any of the three could see on him were his fingers, and even then they looked more like wood than skin. They could not see his face, for there was a strange mask resting on it. A heart-shaped mask with spikes jutting from the sides, glowing yellow eyes, and an assortment of colors with violet as the most prominent.

Shanya kept the same expressionless glare while Link raised an eyebrow at the strange creature, but Mako stepped forward with a bright smile.

"Hey there, little fella!" he called. "What're you doing up there?"

"Me? I was waiting for you."

"Us? What for?"

The nimble little creature hopped down from the branch and landed hunched over, walking toward the three nearly on all fours. He looked up at them, the mask's wide eyes still peering deep into their souls. Then he spoke again, his words mystifying them even further.

"Are you Link?" he asked.

Link raised an eyebrow, as did Mako and Shanya as they both looked over at him.

"Uh…yes. Do I know you?"

"Nope. I'm Skull Kid!"

Skull Kid held out his hand, Link returning the gesture and very nearly recoiling when the little imp turned his hand over and looked at the glowing emblem on the back of it. The Triforce of Courage. An ancient relic representing a true hero. Everyone, including his two trainees (now lieutenants), knew that he had it and he was revered because of it, almost on the level of Zelda herself. Why was Skull Kid interested in it, though?

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "You really do have it!"

"What? The Triforce?"

"Yeah! Do you know Princess Zelda?"

"Umm…yes. Why?"

"She's got a piece of the Triforce, too, right?"

"Okay, buddy, I think you need to back up and tell me what exactly you're doing here."

Skull Kid released Link's hand and scratched at the back of his head. He seemed ready to explain himself, but there came the sound of clanking armour getting closer and closer before a Hylian messenger rounded the corner.

"Oh, thank goodness! Commander Link!"

Link only needed to look at the messenger's panicked expression and hear his panting to know that something was wrong. The messenger slid to a stop in front of them, doubling over and taking in several breathes before blurting out his message.

"Thank goodness I found the three of you! It's an emergency!"

"What's wrong?!" Link demanded.

He didn't even need to ask. He knew what the messenger was going to say even before he said it, and it sent a wave of dread washing over him even while it was happening.

"General Impa needs all three of you to return immediately!" the messenger shouted. "The castle is under attack!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Run, you fool! Your princess desires your presence! ...oh, and save the castle while you're at it, too!<strong>_

**Good ol' Skull Kid, eh? What would we do without him? Speaking of which, I admit I'm a little upset he's not going to be playable in the actual Hyrule Warriors game, but the Majora's Mask DLC shows a lot of promise. Oh, Tingle. Always sticking around to troll us, eh?** _**Actually, I kinda liked him in Wind Waker, although I guess using his design from that game would be...in poor taste if you catch my drift. And Young Link...hm. Interesting choice. And he turns into the Fierce Deity for his Special Attack? ...okay...that's bloody awesome.**_

**SOUNDTRACK SO FAR**

_**Musou test in the Faron Woods- **_"In the Greenwood" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Link, Mako, and Shanya versus Phantom Ganon- **_Phantom Ganon's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker


	3. A New Breed of Chaos

CHAPTER THREE

**A New Breed of Chaos**

War in Hyrule always came suddenly. There were never negotiations. Either one army attacked without warning or the other did. Another common trait was that there was no such thing as remorse on either side. One was clearly benevolent and the other was clearly malevolent. Now was no different as the massive army of Moblins and Stalfos laid siege to the off-guard Hyrule Castle. The people within Castle Town ran terrified to shelter while the droves of Hylian soldiers dashed to the lowering drawbridge, ready to defend their home as best as they could. Leading this army was none other than the mighty Sheikah warrior Impa, her greatsword anchored on her shoulder and ready to bring the monsters to their knees.

"Archers! To the battlements!" she bellowed. "Goron units, flank the right side and close the mountain pass! Don't let any more of them through! The rest of you follow me!"

"Understood!" the soldiers shouted.

"Let's roll, boys!" hollered one of the Goron captains.

Impa swung her blade hard, sending a small mob of the dark forces flying off in different directions. It made the other enemy units wary and even somewhat intimidated, but not nearly enough to make them back off. Just as well. Impa was looking to blow off a little steam, anyway.

"Come, then!" she shouted. "I'll cut down every last one of you!"

It certainly looked like she would as the countless pig-men and living skeletons fell in droves at her feet. She kicked, tackled, and slashed her way through the mob. Even the ones with slightly more than half a brain stood no chance against this deadly warrior. Two Stalmasters swung at her, left dumbfounded when she vaulted herself high into the air. With her free hand raised, dozens upon dozens of daggers of water conjured around her, and when she cast her hand down, the daggers rained down on the defenseless monsters before Impa herself struck the ground and generated a mighty shockwave.

The satisfaction of this tiny victory was short-lived. She heard metallic clanking close behind her, followed by the swinging off a massive steel weapon through the air. The clinking of chain links accompanied it. A giant flail, and as she heard the sound suddenly grow louder and felt the air start to part, she acted. She spun around and leapt upward, slamming both of her feet against the giant metal sphere and sending it hurtling away just in time. She had aimed for it to strike back at its wielder, but this being too demonstrated brilliant strength as he caught the ball with one hand and returned it to a hanging position while he held its chain with both hands.

An intimidating force, indeed. At about seven or eight feet, he towered over Impa( who was already rather tall), in part due to his heavy set of gold-and-silver armour. His face was naturally hidden from view, and Impa thought for a moment that he was just another generic enemy officer before he spoke.

"You fight well. Consider me slightly impressed, Impa of the Sheikah." he said in a deep and booming voice. "Only slightly, mind you."

Impa sneered and tensed her grip on the hilt of her blade. She didn't know where this being had learned her name, but she hardly cared. She would make sure that he remembered more than her name when she was done with him.

"Coming from an enemy of my people, that doesn't mean much to me." she said.

"State your name, fiend."

"Anxious, are we? I do not blame you. I am General Onox."

"Now that that's established, what business do you have here?"

"The business of war, of course. It would seem that my underlings haven't provide you with nearly enough of a challenge."

"And I suppose you can do better?"

Onox scoffed and tightened his grip on his chain. Through the small holes in his helmet, Impa could see his blood-red eyes start to leer at her. He was intimidating. She could give him that, but she was a Sheikah in addition to the loyal servant of the Royal Family of Hyrule. For her, fear was not an option. She would face this tremendous foe or die trying.

"I can only assume you are eager to find out." Onox growled. "I suppose I should warn you in advance that you likely won't walk away from this."

"You have no idea how many of my fallen foes have told me that. Trust me when I say this won't take long."

"I agree. I doubt you'll be worth the effort for much longer. But enough talk. Have at you!"

Impa made the first move, immediately demonstrating her superior speed compared to the armour-clad Onox when she vaulted over his flail. As she swung downward, Onox raised his gauntlet and blocked the blow, leaving (to Impa's shock) no dent or scratch to speak of. And this wasn't just any ordinary sword she was using: on top of it being a massive two-handed greatsword, it was fashioned by Biggoron, the finest blacksmith in Hyrule (on top of being a Goron as tall as Hyrule Castle). If it couldn't pierce something, then its wielder was in for a really difficult fight.

And sadly, Impa most certainly once. No matter how hard she swung her blade, it clanged off of Onox's armour every single time without leaving a single indication of damage, and that was aside from her barely missing getting hit by his weapon every time he swung it at her. She wrestled with a few Gorons before, and she would be the first to tell anyone that blocking Onox's weapon whenever she wasn't quick enough to dodge it was almost exactly like that but without the overall sense of fun and with a lot more murderous intentions.

"Damn. I hate to say it, but he's good."

Impa rolled backward, the metal ball slamming and sticking into the ground where she had been standing. Even as she skidded backwards slightly, she had to vault forward again when the ball generated a massive shockwave. As Onox raised his arm to swing again, Impa at last saw what she was looking for: a gap in his armour. Now all she had to do was reach it.

Much easier said than done.

"Why do you delay?" Onox mocked. "Are the Sheikah not the most deadly of all races? Or are you just actively trying to disappoint me?"

"Oh, shut it, you great oaf!"

Then Onox surprised Impa even further. The visor of his helmet rose on its own, showing a fanged, snarling, and very wide mouth underneath. Onox drew in a deep breath, and Impa just barely avoided the fast and deadly stream of fire that spewed out. Fireball after fireball shot after Impa as she rolled and vaulted all about with the flames very nearly licking her heels every single time. Finally, she had them perfectly lined up and was just the right distance away. She sheathed her weapon and focused. She had to time this just right or else risk getting the nastiest burn of her life.

They were three feet away. Two feet. One foot, and…

"MORTAL DRAW!"

Perfect. She struck the fireballs at just the right time and with just the right strength to send them flying back at Onox. He wasn't fast enough to stop them as they slammed into his chest one right after the other. As he doubled over, Impa rushed forward, sliding underneath him and delivering a heavy kick to his chest. The force was enough to send the knight high into the air, but even as she vaulted up after him, she knew he wasn't defenseless. He swung his weapon, and she seized the chain just in time to make full use of the momentum and travel further upward.

"What goes around comes around, Onox!" Impa laughed.

"Well, aren't we cheeky…" the knight growled.

She thought she had every right, but this sadly wasn't the case. As she dived down toward Onox's exposed armpit, he dropped his weapon, and she saw why the second she was within slashing range. In what seemed like a millisecond, he clapped his hands together and seized the blade. With a mighty roar, he swung the blade over his head and cast it downward, too quickly for the shocked Impa to let go of it until she was already hurtling toward the ground. Her blade planted deep into the earth while its wielder rolled along the ground as she hit it and felt everything start to hurt all at once. Where in the world did this knight come from to become so powerful?

Even as Impa thought that very thing and started to heave herself to her feet, Onox's greave stepped on her chest and pinned her down before she got the chance.

"You waste my time, Sheikah!" Onox shouted. "Not even a few minutes and you have already been outmatched!"

"And here I thought you had at least a little bit of humility." Impa growled, trying her best to heave Onox's heavy foot off of her. "Let it be known that I will never surrender to you or anyone!"

"You value your worthless princess and this land full of fools more than your own life? Very well."

As Onox started to swing, there came a sickly cackle before a figured descended into view. A wretched-looking creature that wore a billowing violet robe, his black skeletal hands visible from under the sleeves and a single red eye glowing in the shadow of his hood. The eye oddly rolled over and split into a toothy grin as the creature began to speak.

"Don't finish her just yet, Onox" he said. "I've been looking to have a little go at her again."

"Wizzro?!" Impa spat. "How the blazes are you still alive?!"

"I'll admit I had a little brush with death, but I had some help from a worthy source."

The last time Impa had seen this wretched little creature, he had been no more than an underling of Cia's, but she used the term "underling" very loosely for a fairly obvious reason. Onox didn't have his priorities straight when it came to honor, but Wizzro lacked honor altogether and would betray even his closest allies at a moment's notice so long as it suited him. She'd thought the world had seen the last of him when Link cut him down with the legendary Master Sword, but here he was without a single indication of what had happened.

Onox scoffed at his comrade's impulsiveness, Impa making out a sneer in the shadow of his helmet.

"Not that I doubt the Sheikah's incompetence, but what makes you think that you could handle her? Look at how frail you are."  
>"Silence, you fool!" Wizzro growled. "If you don't believe me, then I'll gladly show you!"<p>

Another annoying trait about the evil wizard: it was very easy to get under his skin.

At the sound of a horse's call, Onox and Wizzro became wary, but it wasn't enough. Wizzro let out a shrill scream of pain as an arrow of light pierced his shoulder. Onox raised his weapon in self-defense but wasn't fast enough as a pair of powerful hooves slammed his chest. Impa took a moment to clutch her chest and catch her breath as her equine savior nudged her to her feet. As Onox and Wizzro recovered from their wounds, they stared in slight awe at the enormous and magnificent horse, her skin a reddish-brown and her tail and mane a snowy white. Epona's beauty only served to accentuate the radiance of the warrior woman seated atop her, a bow in her hand and a rapier on her belt.

"Away with you, ghouls!" Zelda shouted.

"Princess, what are you doing here?!" Impa said in panic. "It's too dangerous!"

"I'm not afraid of getting a little hurt, Impa. Especially not by this wretched thing."

Wizzro growled.

"So the little damsel decides to show herself at last? How nice. I'm afraid you're just the tiniest bit too late, though. What're you going to do against the two of us?"

To his irritation, Zelda simply smirked at him.

"You know, Wizzro, I have a few favourite words in my mind. A lot of them are things typical of someone like me, such as "peace", "justice", "love", all of that. But do you know what my absolute favourite is?"

Wizzro scowled at her, obviously wondering why she was even bothering to ask him such a silly thing, but had a familiar chill run up his spine when he heard Epona whinny in delight at the sight she saw over his shoulder. When Zelda spoke, he knew that things were about to get much more complicated.

"Reinforcements."

Zelda may have been calm that they had already gained the upper hand, but Link and his lieutenants were just relieved they even made it before things got any worse. They'd sprinted the whole way, Link cursing himself for not bringing Epona along with him (though the Musou test's only rule was that they could have no outside help, with mounts like his trusty steed counting as such), and by the time they got there, their lungs will already ready to burst. Now wasn't the time for rest, however.

"Get ready, guys!" Link shouted. "This is the real deal here! Do or die!"

Onox stood at the ready while Wizzro was already starting to get cold feet…or rather, he would if he had feet. The former looked at the latter and rolled his eyes, but nonetheless callously waved his hand.

"Fine, then. Run away like a coward for all I care."

Wizzro did just that, thankful for it when Mako and Shanya engaged Onox. While it was painfully obvious they were getting about as much work done on him as Impa had, defeating him wasn't the primary concern. They just needed to hold him off.

"Don't worry, boss!" Mako shouted to Link. "We got this chump!"

Link nodded and helped Impa to his feet before Epona galloped up to her master and let out another cheered whinny.

"Perfect timing, Link!" Zelda cheered, hopping down from Epona's back. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed Epona for a little bit."

"Not at all, Princess." Link said with a smile. "I'd say she's taken to you really well. She doesn't let just anyone ride her."

The great mare nevertheless whinnied and affectionately brushed her snout against her master's cheek. Link himself laughed and lightly patted her head.

"You treated the princess good, right?" he asked.

Epona dragged her front hoof along the ground and bobbed her head. Link patted her again before hauling himself up onto her back. He offered his hand to Zelda with arched eyebrows and a determined grin.

"What do you say, Princess?" he asked. "Ready to show 'em who's boss?"

Zelda smiled and pulled out a massive and elegant bow as Link pulled her onto Epona's back just behind him.

"Gladly. Shall we start with Wizzro?"

"Definitely." Link said before he adopted a look of anger as he stared forward at his intended target and shouted after him. "Get back here, you coward!"

Link snapped the reins and Epona was off like a bullet, Wizzro looking over his shoulder and feeling a tinge of panic rear up in his mind. Even if Link wasn't wielding the Master Sword anymore, that didn't make him any less of a threat, and Wizzro knew this first-hand.

"I'm honestly starting to see what Cia liked in him…"

He shook the thought out and kept going, Link and Zelda still a fair distance behind him but gaining fairly quickly. A swarm of Bokoblins and Stalfos stormed after them, only to be trampled on and launched out of the way once Epona picked up her pace. Either that or they ended up on the receiving end of Link's blade or got shot full of Zelda's arrows.

"Great shot, princess!" Link called.

"Heads up!" Zelda shouted back.

One Stalfos had chosen that time to footstool off of the head of one of its underlings and was now sailing right at them with its sword reared back, but Link was already two steps ahead of it. He pushed himself to a stand and launched himself from Epona's back. When the Hylian and the living skeleton at last met in mid-air, it took a single slash for the latter to succumb. Link was simply too fast for it, and this was only proven when the Stalfos' remains clattered to the ground while Link himself fell safely back onto the saddle on Epona's back.

"Nicely done." said Zelda with a sly grin. "Showing off a bit, though, aren't you?"

"Hey, I'm young." Link laughed. "Why not take advantage of it? Didn't hurt you too bad when I landed, did I, Epona?"

Epona whinnied. She was fine. As proven with getting Onox away from Impa, Epona was ridiculously strong for a horse and could easily be considered a threat even without someone riding her.

"Ah, damn." Zelda growled. "Looks like Wizzro got away."

"I wouldn't be too worried." said Link. "Knowing him, he'll probably pop up again for some 'foolproof surprise attack'."

Speaking of surprises, Mako, Shanya, and Impa ran up alongside them.

"Jeez, did you guys take care of that knight already?" Link asked.

"Actually, no." Mako said. "Tell you the truth, he was beating us around the bush like you wouldn't believe, then he just kinda…well, vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Yep. Disappeared. Went up in smoke. Poof. Gone…and because I just realized that Princess Zelda is sitting behind you, I'm just gonna get down on my knee out of respect if that's okay.

Zelda laughed.

"No need, Mako. Or is that Sir Mako judging from the banners you and Shanya are toting?"

Mako blushed and scratched at the back of his head, Shanya smiling and humorously patting him on the shoulder. Impa shared this smile and cracked a knuckle.

"For lieutenants, I have to say that they show a lot of potential." she said.

"Despite a few faults, but then again, that reminds me a lot of someone else I know."

Link rolled his eyes as his superior officer glanced over at him, but his attention was quickly drawn away by the enormous mob of dark forces approaching. The warriors gripped their weapons just as the Goron captain came rolling up to them.

"General Impa!" he called. "We've closed the mountain pass. There's a ton of monsters on the other side, but we've reinforced it pretty well."

"On the off chance they break through anyway?" Impa asked.

"We've got Bombchus ready to blow 'em to smithereens if they even think about it."

"Excellent! Now all we have to do is get rid of the ones within the perimeter."

"I don't doubt any of you guys, but there's a ton of them. Gotta be at least a thousand. How are you gonna take down that many?"

A simple smile from Zelda was all the captain needed to know that she was two steps ahead of the competition.

"The five of us will summon the Great Fairy. I want the rest of you guarding the castle's drawbridge in case Wizzro or Onox attempt an ambush. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, princess!" the Goron captain cheered before motioning to his comrades. "Let's do it, Brothers!"

"Alright!" Mako hollered. "Let's kick some ass!"

As the army of Hylian and Goron soldiers began sprinting toward the castle, the five mightiest warriors headed toward the solitary temple tucked into the nearby hills. With the kind of power the Great Fairy had at her disposal, turning the tide of the battle was a given. As the five slashed their way through the mob, they had high hopes when they reached the fountain steps.

To their surprise and dread, however, someone had beaten them there, and she didn't look friendly as muttered incantations under her breath and swayed her arms about in a strange sort of dance. Link could already feel a strange evil presence in the air, and the second he did, he stepped forward with his blade ready to strike.

"Hey!" he shouted as he and Zelda hopped down from Epona's back.

The sorceress stopped in mid-dance, stood up straight, and slowly turned around to meet Link's fiery gaze. She clearly wasn't a member of any species they recognized what with her blue skin, but her red hair as well as the markings on her purple-and-blue attire revealing more skin than Link cared for, it narrowed their options a fair bit. To Link's disgust, the sorceress gave him a seductive grin.

"Well, hello, handsome." she said with a light chuckle. "What brings you here?"

"Apparently you." Link growled, pointing his sword at this new adversary. "Who are you?"

"Oh, me? Just call me Veran. Granted, I prefer Lady Veran coming from any and all subordinates, but for you, I won't be fussy."

Link cracked his neck and kept himself fixed in a fighting stance. He already didn't like this woman, and that was besides the fact that she was part of this escapade against his home. In fact, she reminded him way too much Ghirahim for her haughty and elegant way of speaking (and the dancing, oddly enough), and Cia for her provocative attire and sultry voice. There was one massive difference from the latter: Link seriously doubted Veran was going to generate as much sympathy in him as Cia.

"Not that it really matters considering we'll cut you down either way," Zelda spat as she unsheathed her rapier. "But would you be so kind as to tell me why you and your army of monsters are disrupting our peace?"

"Ah, Princess Zelda." Veran said, her eyes nonchalantly half-shut. "Such a pretty young thing. Oh, the ways I'd love to corrupt you."

"…quite. Now answer me!"

Veran laughed, showing no signs of intimidation even as all five warriors stood with their weapons ready in the fountain's entrance. She snapped her fingers, Onox and Wizzro immediately appearing on either side of her.

"So you're the big kahuna here?" Mako spat. "Awesome. Hope you're in the mood for a knuckle sandwich."

"Sadly, no." Veran sighed. "I do have a fondness for childish violence, mind you, but this isn't really the time or place for me to get physical. Very sad, indeed."

"Take this invasion as more of a warning." said Onox. "It is simply the bidding of our master, and we are bound to serve him."

The mention of a master in reference to these three instantly left a foul image in Link's mind. What were they planning? With his spirit sealed away, Ganondorf wouldn't be coming back anytime soon…right?

"In any case," said Veran. "Perhaps we should keep the party going, yes?"

Within the pool behind Veran, there came a series of ripples as a thin column of light descended. All of a sudden, the light faded into a shadow as chains of violet light descended into the water, hanging loosely before straightening upon striking something. They slowly retracted, and dragged from the water the large and magnificent Great Fairy twisted into something hellish. She hung limp, strange violet markings licking her now-dark skin and her hair waving about as if in a violent wind. More disturbing were her fingernails, having lengthened into sizable claws.

"Sweet flaming arms of Din, what is that thing?!" Mako sputtered.

"The Great Fairy…" Zelda said in horror before looking at Veran with a venomous glare. "What have you done to her?!"

Veran smirked with a roll of her eyes, and that was nearly enough for Link to run straight up to her and stab her through the chest.

"Just made a few minor alterations. If you'd like to take revenge on us for this, go ahead. By all means…well, by all means as long as you make it out of this. Judging from your performance so far, I don't doubt at least a few of you will. Ta-ta for now."

Link finally chose that moment to rush forward at Veran, but only succeeded in stabbing empty air when she vanished without a trace, taking Onox and Wizzro with her. Zelda stepped forward toward the Great Fairy, not realizing how much of a mistake this was until the ethereal being opened her eyes. They were completely red; no irises, no pupils.

As soon as she saw the five figures before her, the Great Fairy gritted her teeth, spread her arms apart, and unleashed a mighty screech. As she did, the walls and ceiling of the temple began to shake, pieces starting to crash to the floor as they cracked.

"Run!" Zelda shouted.

And they ran, and the moment they escaped the temple, the newly-summoned Omega Fairy blasted through the ceiling. She gazed down at the battlefield, relishing in the fear she saw in the Hyrulean soldiers before she dove like a bird of prey, raining lightning down on the field and watching the soldiers start to flee. Impa however was quick to stop them, one mighty swing sending the closest lightning bolt shooting away,

"Don't even think about trying to run away on us!" she hollered.

"But General Impa, we can't fight something like that!" one of the younger soldiers whined.

"You are men of Hyrule! You will stand your ground and fight no matter what happens! I want heavier defenses on the castle! Get a move on!"

The Omega Fairy kept moving ridiculously fast even as the archers on the castle's battlements fired arrow after arrow at her. She swooped down every once in a while, either tearing up large chunks of the earth with her claws or bombarding the helpless soldiers with lightning and spheres of energy. She smiled cruelly at the destruction she caused, only turning away from it when she felt an arrow stick into her shoulder. It hadn't hurt, but it had certainly irritated her, especially with its green-clad firer mocking her.

"Right here, sweetheart!" he called. "I had one crazy witch lady after me and now I got another one winking at me, so hey. Why not add an evil fairy to that list?"

The Omega Fairy roared and dove right at him with her claws outstretched, clearly unaware of nimble Link was until he vaulted over. The second he landed behind her and she began to lift into the air again, he dug out another one of his fancy tools, this time in the form of the Clawshot. He let it fire before the fairy got too far away, and once it latched onto her hair, the chain pulled him toward her at high speed. He seized one of the many vines wrapped around her body, and against the violent wind rushing past as well as the fairy herself trying to buck him off, he began to pull himself toward her head.

"She ain't makin' it easy for me, that's for sure." he growled.

When he at last made it to her head, he did something that no man or woman ever should have done lest they be labelled one of the worst Hylians to ever exist: he curled his arms around the Omega Fairy's head and wrestled it until she was looking down. As a result, she ended up in an extremely fast descent, shrieking and clawing at Link the whole time. Zelda was already way ahead of him, firing at the Omega Fairy's hands whenever one of the claws strayed too close to Link for comfort.

"Come on, don't slack now…" she muttered to herself over and over again.

One misfired bow was all it took for the Omega Fairy to finally get a hold of her attacker, throwing him sky-high and launching an energy sphere at him. She really shouldn't have counted on him being defenseless, however, as he withdrew his blade and slashed the sphere right back at her. A little bit of dead man's volley ensued, the sphere getting faster and faster until it finally detonated. The terrible part was who it detonated on.

"Good Nayru, no!" Mako panicked.

"LINK!" Zelda screamed.

The blow left Link in complete shock, even unable to scream as he engaged in a freefall toward the ground far below. Luckily, Impa was still on her toes and already had a rescue plan underway.

"Epona!" she called.

In response, Epona lowered her head just as Impa broke into a run toward her. The Sheikah warrior hopped onto the mare's back, and with another strong push, she launched herself toward Link like a rocket. Link grunted as Impa seized him around the middle, but when she slid to a stop on her feet and gently placed him down in a sitting position.

"What in Din's name were you thinking, Link?!" Impa half-shouted. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"We're gonna get killed if we let her run amok like this!" Link said back.

It already looked like that was what it was going to be as the Omega Fairy smiled almost maniacally and raised her hand to the sky. A massive sphere of energy slowly conjured, Zelda firing everything she had at her but realizing too late that even the legendary Light Arrows were horribly ineffective against a being such as this.

Link and Impa stood straight and braced themselves to strike back against the sphere (as difficult as they knew it would be to deflect something that large) as the Omega Fairy cast it, when…

…it vanished.

"What in the world?" Impa started.

Then they saw him. Floating in mid-air with his arms crossed behind his head after catching and somehow dispelling the giant sphere was none other than the little imp that Link and his lieutenants had encountered in the forest. He looked over his shoulder at Link and saluted him before speaking.

"You guys need some help?" he asked.

"Skull Kid?! What are you doing here?!" Link sputtered.

"I was kinda curious to see what was going on, so I tagged along with you. You didn't notice me following you?"

A negative answer, but it didn't matter to Skull Kid nor the Omega Fairy as she charged headlong at him with her claws flexed. Skull Kid shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

"You shouldn't have done that…"

Skull Kid raised his hands to the sky and let out a shill cry. A strange aura generated above him, growing more and more prominent the longer he shouted. There was a loud and deep hum as well as a strong gust of wind, and when the Omega Fairy finally reached him, it almost looked like she had slammed right into a brick wall. She cried in pain, full-on screaming when Skull Kid swung his arms downward and the invisible force stuck her down to the ground. He kept her pinned down while he quickly descended, and Zelda was the first to rush forward, producing (of all things) an ocarina.

"Let it be known, Veran," she muttered as though the witch would hear her. "We will always find a way."

Zelda pressed her lips to the mouthpiece and blew. The song she played echoed throughout the battlefield as a soft and beautiful melody, and all who heard it found their spirits soothed. The Omega Fairy in particular slowed her angry and malevolent panting, her breath becoming softer and calmer as the song escalated. The warriors watched as a violet light enveloped her body, then slowly drew off of her into a packed sphere in front of them.

As the light left the Great Fairy's body, her natural colors returned, her eyes softly closed but her light breathing indicating that she was perfectly fine. Finally, the violet sphere took a more finite yet odd shape: a mask in the shape of the Great Fairy's face that clattered onto the ground. Zelda breathed out as she finished the song and parted the mystical instrument from her lips.

"It's done."

With a light groan, the Great Fairy lifted herself into a sitting position and shook out the dizziness as she drearily looked about at her surroundings.

"What…what have I been doing…" she mumbled.

"Great Fairy, are you alright?" Zelda asked.

"Of course, princess, but…dear goddesses, did I do that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. A sorceress named Veran inflicted a sort of curse on you."

"Veran? …curious name. In any case, I…"

Zelda held up her hand, wearing the smile she was known across the land for. A smile of total forgiveness. There was no way she couldn't forgive the Great Fairy.

"It's nothing. I'm just glad you're okay."

The Great Fairy brushed herself off and lifted off the ground, responding to the princess with her trademark laugh. An odd laugh as it was friendly, seductive, and even somewhat insane all at the same time.

"No need to worry about me, Zelda. I'd be more worried about Link."

Link flinched when the giant fairy mentioned his name and flushed bright red when said fairy gave him an endearing smile.

"I must say you're quite strong for a mere mortal, dear." the Great Fairy giggled. "I actually kind of enjoyed you grabbing me like that."

"Uhh…o-okay…"

"And did you by chance call me 'sweetheart' while we were having that little scuffle back there?"

"Uhh...uhh...hey, stop laughing, Mako!"

At that point, it wasn't just Mako. Every soldier close enough to see the exchange began laughing. Even Impa and Shanya (one a real stick in the mud sometimes and the other simply incapable of vocalization by the looks of it) couldn't help but smirk.

"In any case," the Great Fairy beamed. "If any of you need my help, you know where to find me. Come visit soon, okay?"

And with a blown kiss and another wild laugh, she vanished in a flash of pink light. A light dust was left in her wake, and as it settled on all the soldiers, it filled them with a strange comfort. The wounded ones even found themselves standing up and brushing themselves off as though nothing had happened. Zelda sighed in relief at the sight, though snickered slightly when Mako broke the silence between the five warriors.

"Well, THAT was fun." he said with a shrug. "Quick question, though. Was, um…was she always like that?

"Buddy, if I knew whether or not she was and why she's kinda extra nice to me, I'd tell you." Link said with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, Skull Kid, you said you wanted to show us something?"

Skull Kid snapped to attention and nodded.

"Yeah. I know where those three came from."

"Veran and all them?"

"Yeah. But can I see Zelda first?"

Zelda stepped forward and knelt down to make herself level with the little imp, who promptly scurried up to her. Zelda stayed entranced by the eyes of the mask as Skull Kid stared at her for a brief moment, looking away only when he softly took her hand and examined it. Something about that mask, though…it seemed malevolent. She couldn't explain how, and it didn't look like Skull Kid could even feel it. What greatly concerned her, however, was the act he had pulled on the Great Fairy. As awe-inspiring as it was, she seriously doubted that he had done it on his own.

"That's a very lovely mask." she said.

"Thanks!" Skull Kid said cheerily.

"Why don't you take it off? There's nothing to hide from me, is there?"

"Sorry, I can't. A friend of mine gave it to me and I promised I'd keep it on until I saw her again."

"Interesting…where is this friend of yours?"

Skull Kid nodded at the sight of the Triforce of Wisdom and let Zelda stand before he spoke any further.

"She's actually from the same place those guys are from. It's called Termina."

While many of the soldiers pondered on where or even what this place was, Zelda snapped to attention at the name. Termina. She'd never in a million years expect any enemy of hers to be from there. Embarking there would be treacherous, but she had little cause for worry with all her powerful allies.

"Can you take us there?" Impa asked.

"Actually…no." said Skull Kid.

"No?"

"I only managed to get here because my friend sent me through. She told me that to get back, I'd need to find three keys scattered across three different eras of time. But she didn't really tell me exactly where they would be."

Mako shrugged.

"I'd say it's worth the risk. We can't have those three coming back, can we? That, and we kinda owe him one for saving our butts back there. But how are we supposed to get those keys? It's not like we can just snap our fingers and pop up two hundred years in the past or whatever, right?"

Mako, Shanya, and Skull Kid may not have figured out a way to do that, but Impa, Zelda, and Link certainly had. The latter two looked at each other with bright smiles on their faces as they recounted the events they'd been through with one more vital ally. One vital ally that had no limits when it came to space and time.

"We can't," said Link. "But we know someone who can."

* * *

><p><em><strong>I know I probably should have expected this since out of all game series, Legend of Zelda is fifth in terms of the number of stories written (behind Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII, and Sonic if my memory serves me correctly). But quite frankly, the reception I've gotten for the first two chapters of this story has been absolutely amazing, so thank you to everyone who has or will followfavorite this story.**_

_**A very special thanks to the folks who reviewed it, particularly PrincessChrom who posted an extra-long one. And given something she mentioned in her review as well as something I mentioned in the first chapter, I feel it's the appropriate time to bring it up now. Later on, Link and the gang will have some encounters with character from four other Nintendo series. What are they? Hint time. One is a turn-based strategy RPG, one (as of the latest entry) is a third-person shooter/rail shooter, one is an action-adventure with shooter elements, and one is a straight-up action RPG. I'll leave the speculating from there up to you guys. **_

**SOUNDTRACK SO FAR**

_**Musou test in the Faron Woods- **_"In the Greenwood" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Link, Mako, and Shanya versus Phantom Ganon- **_Phantom Ganon's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

_**Ambush on Hyrule Castle- **_"Under Siege" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Reinforcements- **_Legend of Zelda main theme (Hyrule Warriors version)

_**The Omega Fairy- **_"Kumite" from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Hyrule Warriors version)


	4. Through the Passage of Time

CHAPTER FOUR

**Through the Passage of Time**

Once they were sure all the wounded had been tended to, Link and Zelda set out, Impa and Link's two lieutenants volunteering to go along with them. With just the five of them along with Epona and Skull Kid, it seemed like a foolish idea not to bring the entire army along, but they couldn't risk a sneak attack on Hyrule Castle in their absence nor could they risk losing a great deal of soldiers on their time-hopping voyage. Besides, if they were headed where Link, Zelda, and Impa thought they were headed, they were fairly sure they'd be fairly well equipped to deal with whatever they'd have to face.

After they had set out, they'd taken a short rest on the edge of the Valley of Seers before continuing straight onward to the Temple of Souls. For a moment, they doubted they'd find what they were looking as they pushed their way through the dark forest where they vaguely remembered the temple being. Its current inhabitant was no fool; even if she was all alone in the temple, she'd stock if full of ghosts, set up various traps, or just make it invisible to make sure no one malevolent found her.

Thankfully, there had been no reason to fear getting lost. They heard the light flowing of a fountain, and as they parted the last few branches in front of them, they saw it. When it had been under Cia's dominion, it had been the very definition of twisted (both literally and figuratively). Now, however, it looked far less like a festering place of evil and madness and much more like a luscious home. The bricks making up the temple were of the purest white, and the rose garden surrounding the temple had lost its thorns, the roses themselves turning ocean-blue. They approached the beautifully carven door, gazing about at all the beautiful surroundings before Zelda knocked. The sound echoed throughout the temple, and when there was no answer, Zelda slowly pushed the door open.

"Are you sure she's here?" Mako asked.

"Positive." said Link. "As much as I hate to say it, she doesn't really have much of a reason to leave."

"So why didn't she answer the door? Is she hiding?"

"We'll see, won't we?"

As they entered the foyer, they took the time to admire every little intricacy from the artificial moonlight streaming through the cracks in the ceiling to the massive tree growing in the center of the room whose branches hung over them like an umbrella to the painting lined along the walls.

Speaking of the paintings,Link remembered in disturbing detail that many of them had been of him when Cia occupied this palace. Now, though, they were much more welcoming. In this semi-gallery, there was indeed a large painting of him, but there was also one for each ally he and Lana had meet on their previous journey together. There was naturally one for Impa and one for Zelda (Zelda's alter-ego Sheik appearing in the same one), but there were also paintings for the warriors from across the ages.

Each of them had been a vital part of their previous mission, and each had been just as wonderful to fight alongside. Even if each one had an odd quirk, Darunia a bit rough around the edges, Ruto being far too prideful for her own good, Midna having a sharp tongue in addition to her sharp wit, Agitha having a slightly unhealthy obsession with insects and a very childish personality (which was fitting since she couldn't have been more than ten), and Fi having no emotions to speak of. Nevertheless, Link, Zelda, and Impa remembered their journey together very fondly and would gladly go through it again if only to spend more time with them.

"Looks like whoever lives here has fond memories of you guys." said Skull Kid. "What did you say her name was?"

"Her name is Lana." said Zelda. "Don't worry, she's very friendly."

"Can she get us to the keys?"

"I'm sure she'll do her best…between you and I, she has a massive crush on Link, so she'll do it just to make him happy."

She couldn't be sure, but she had the feeling that Skull Kid raised an eyebrow at her.

"Doesn't every girl he meets have a crush on him? Heck, don't you?"

Zelda flushed bright red as Link heard the conversation and looked over at the two of them with a raised eyebrow, and as she turned away, Skull Kid started snickering. Before anyone could ask anything, Zelda quickly gave the orders.

"Let's split up and see if any of us can find Lana. Skull Kid, I'd like you to come with me. We'll search the west hall. Impa and Shanya, you take the east. Link and Mako, you go upstairs and search the second floor."

They parted, Epona following Link and Mako as they trudged up the carpeted stairs. Link smiled as his loyal steed brushed her snout against him, softly patting her while Mako looked on with his own grin.

"She really likes you, huh?" the young Zora asked. "How did you catch her, anyway?"

"Catch her?" said Link. "No, no, I didn't catch her. She came to me."

"You, uh, care to explain?"

"I don't really have any solid memories of my parents or anything. Hell, I kinda forget everything that happened to me before I was five. I was wandering around the field looking for a place to live, and I ended up falling asleep under a tree and singing this song to myself that I think my mom used to sing to me to lull me to sleep. Next thing I knew, I woke up and there was a baby horse sniffing me. I figured she'd lost her parents, too, so I let her tag along with me and we've been thick as thieves ever since."

Epona whinnied and nudged Link again, but she quickly took notice of something in the makeshift bag Mako had slung around his back. She began nudging him as well, and when Link finally took notice, it was only when he saw a very familiar shape edge into view.

"You kept that mask from the Great Fairy?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah."

"Why?"

"I dunno. I've just kind of been into collecting masks since I was just a squirt."

"Interesting. Now I get to hear a touching story."

Mako rolled his eyes with a smile, yet continued. Sharing his hobby was something he always enjoyed doing even if it seemed a little odd at first glance.

"I was a little ways out from Zora's Domain one day with some of my friends, and we saw this weird-looking guy pass by us with a huge backpack. There were like a ton of masks hanging off of it, and one of them really caught my eye. It was this one."

He promptly reached into his bag and withdrew a strange grey mask with wide red eyes. It was admittedly disturbing to look at, and Link was quick to call him on it.

"Creepy."

"Yeah, kinda, but I liked it, so I ran up to him and I bought it. Apparently this was some kinda torture device back in the day because it supposedly prevents you from falling asleep if you wear it. I don't really wanna risk finding out 'cause hey. I like my sleep, man."

"Who told you that?"

"The mask guy, actually. I'm pretty sure he was just trying to scare me, though…not that him being a bit of creep didn't already do that."

Link snickered before he became distracted by the hole in the wall. In any other building, this would have been a sign of a lazy owner, and under Cia's dominion, there had been nothing but a swirling violet vortex on the other side as if that made any sense. Now, however, it was a twinkling field of stars, miniature galaxies swooping by every now and then. It seemed like Lana had gone all the way to make this place as warm and welcoming as she could, and she had undoubtedly succeeded. It was this kind of purity that Link couldn't help but admire…and wish that Cia had.

"Damn it. Gotta stop thinking about her…"

As they rounded the corner after clearing the last step, Mako stopped in his tracks.

"Um, Link? You probably know better than I, but I'm pretty sure buddy over there doesn't live here."

Link at first question what Mako was going on about, but as he looked around the corner and saw the lone and ridiculously tall figure stalking the halls, examining the various paintings as he went. He stopped in front of a large portrait of Link, and as he turned to it, Link and Mako could make out his face. Sharp blue markings licked his chiseled face, contrasting against his snowy white hair. Otherwise, the rest of his body was hidden under a thick black cloak adorned with the various symbols of the three goddesses. His most astounding feature was his eyes; they were completely blank.

No matter who he was or what his purpose was, the vibe Link got from him was enough to dub him a threat almost immediately.

"Hey! You!"

The figure turned toward the green-clad hero, looking a bit shocked at the sight of him but nonetheless standing strong when he lunged forward. Working with his momentum, Link jumped high into the air with his sword raised, not realizing what kind of situation he had put himself in until he saw the figure generate his massive weapon from nowhere: a blade in a double helix shape. One casual swing was enough to knock Link backward onto his rear end even if he raised his shield in time, and the man's sword had already dissipated when Mako rushed to Link's aid.

Then he lowered his hood and let Link and Mako get a good look at his face in full detail. Link in particular was troubled when he made a single relevant observation, but that single observation was enough that he knew he'd remember this man's face until the day he died. Why?

"He looks like…me!"

Then the man spoke in a deep and menacing voice that once again forced Link to compare the two of them at how similar they sounded.

"Choose your battles wisely, Link."

"Who the hell are you?!" Link demanded as Mako helped him to his feet. "How do you know my name?!"

He received no answer as the figure disappeared in a bright flash, leaving Link and Mako to wonder what had just happened as the rest of their allies dashed up to them.

"What just happened?!" Impa asked. "We heard fighting!"

"There was this…man here." said Mako. "He looked kinda like…like Link."

"What? Where did he go?"

"Dunno. He basically told Link to watch his ass and then just went up in smoke…hey, if I knew exactly what the hell was going on, don't you think I'd tell you?"

Then Skull Kid scurried forward and said perhaps the most intriguing thing.

"What did he look like exactly? Did he have weird marks on his face."

"Yeah…" said Link. "White hair, too. And a giant twisting sword."

All of a sudden, Skull Kid's mask violently shook on his face, yet Skull Kid himself didn't seem to even notice it. In fact, he looked around at his companions when they all began looking at him like…well, like he had a bug on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing, just saw something kind of weird…" Mako said. "So do you know this guy, buddy?"

"Mm-hm. That friend of mine I told you about said that he's really dangerous. He'll try to wreck us every chance he gets, so we need to keep an eye out for him."

"Awesome. He got a name?"

"She didn't tell me that. She just said he's some kinda demon."

"Well, I'll give your friend that much. He sure looked like a demon to me."

It may have been a very pressing issue, but it was quickly forgotten when the group looked at the shimmering double doors before them, the sun the left door and the crescent moon on the right. Steadily, Link pushed them apart just enough that he could see inside the room. If the rest of the temple was breath-taking, this room was beauty incarnate. Though Link could make out the outlines of walls in the octagonal room, one would be forgiven for thinking the room had infinite space since the walls were built from fields of stars. There were still windows looking on the back wall providing a decent view of the world outside, but the most outstanding feature was the room's centerpiece: an enormous white four-poster bed.

With a very familiar face sleeping in it.

Link didn't even need to say anything to his comrades as he looked around at them, specifically at Zelda. She simply saw the excited smile on his face and nodded with her own. Slowly, Link edged himself into the room and shut the door behind him, catching a mysterious and soothing whiff of a scent he didn't recognize. He noticed the same portraits of him and his allies lined along the walls, but noticed two others. One was of the mighty dragon knight Volga, and the other was of (to his disturbance) Cia.

Seeing a portrait of Volga despite him being one of their primary enemies in the previous war was understandable. He had been the guardian of the Eldin Caves before Cia had brainwashed him into becoming her subordinate. He and Link had fought numerous times, and Link never saw his true nature until the final fight which sadly cost the dragon knight his life. Zelda had freed him from Cia's influence, and were there had been a violent and blood-thirsty monster then became a stern but just being whose lot in life was the thrill of battle. The final fight had been one that Link would remember forever, and he felt sombre as he had dealt the final blow to Volga, who accepted this final loss from Link with honor and died without any regrets.

And though it shocked Link that Lana kept a portrait of Cia in her bedroom at first, it became more realistic the more he thought about it. Lana and Cia had been the same powerful sorceress before Ganondorf took advantage of the light curiosity in her heart and split her in two. As he had thought before, Lana had been the one most devastated by Cia's death. In fact, she had very nearly broken down in tears right in front of him, and it pained him that there was nothing he could do to ease her suffering.

It pained him even more that he was the cause of it.

"Oh, Lana…" he sighed. "Bless your innocent heart."

He let the sentiments flow out and smiled over at Lana, breathing softly and curled up underneath her blanket. Link steadily approached her, taking small and quiet steps so he didn't wake her too suddenly. He knelt by the side of her bed and gazed at her face for a few moments. It occurred to him now that he had taken her beauty for granted because she was a means to an end on their previous journey, but seeing her now was a breath of fresh air.

He wouldn't wait any longer. He slipped off the glove on his right hand and gently reached for her, his fingers tingling as he brushed them against her soft and warm cheek.

"Lana." he whispered.

As if on cue, Lana began to stir. She left out a tired moan as she regained consciousness and slowly sat up in her bed. She rubbed as much of the sleep out of her violet eyes as she could before she turned her head toward Link, still looking like she could use a few more minutes of sleep. The second she saw Link smiling at her, however, the drowsiness was gone in an instant. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open slightly in surprise, shocked that he was even there to begin with. When she let it sink in, that was when the gasp turned into an overjoyed smile.

"Link!" she cried gleefully as she threw her arms around the hero.

"Good to see you, too."

"What are you doing here?! I thought that…oh, what does it matter? I'm just so happy to see you! Did you come by yourself?"  
>"Actually, no. Come on in, everybody!"<p>

Zelda parted the doors and the rest of the group walked in, Mako flushing bright red when he got a good look at Lana. Shanya and Link both tried not to laugh at their companion. In their experience, Mako was most interested in three things: fighting, apparently mask collecting, and girls.

Needless to say, he was pretty good at the first two. The third one? Please refer to his reaction to Lana.

They got the greetings out of the way, Lana raising an eyebrow at the sheepish Mako but nonetheless cheerily welcoming him and everyone else to her home.

"So what brings you all here?" she asked.

"Alas, Lana, a declaration of war." said Impa. "Hyrule Castle was attacked."

"What? By who?"

"A knight named Onox and a sorceress named Veran. Believe it or not, Wizzro was among them."

"Wizzro? I thought Link killed him."

Link shrugged.

"So did I. I think it's safe to say they're not to be ignored, though. They actually managed to corrupt the Great Fairy."

"I see…so what should we do? Do we have any idea where their base is?"

"Yes. Skull Kid said it's in a place called Termina."

Lana bit her lip, and as soon as someone noticed this, they were quick to call her on it.

"What's wrong with that?" Mako asked.

It was Zelda's turn to speak, and what she said was truly chilling.

"You see, Mako, Termina doesn't exist on the same plane of existence as Hyrule. It is a world the goddesses completely separated from ours. Not to keep us out, but to keep a terrible force locked within."

"Veran and Onox?" said Mako.

"Potentially, but Veran mentioned that she wasn't the driving force of their army."

"You don't think…it's that guy that we don't talk about, do you?"

"Ganondorf? I doubt it. He may have been ambitious, but on top of him being sealed away, I don't think he'd go to that much effort."

Much like the rest of the group, Lana harboured an unrestrained grudge for Ganondorf for obvious reasons. Even if Cia wasn't all good, she wasn't all bad, either, but because of Ganondorf interference, Lana was separated from Cia forever. He could never be forgiven for that. That or any of the other endless atrocities he had committed.

"So are you with us, Lana?" Link asked.

She looked at him with a smile. Even if this wasn't a matter of great importance, she couldn't say no to him.

"Absolutely." she said. "What exactly did you need me to do?"

"We'll have Skull Kid explain." said Link.

Skull Kid scurried up to Lana, marvelled by her beauty. Lana found herself already liking the little imp, judging from his posture and the manner in which he moved that he was a very curious and energetic being. Just like Zelda, however, his mask greatly disturbed her. Not its design since it was actually rather appealing, but the energy she could feel radiating from it. Nevertheless, she didn't comment on it as Skull Kid began to speak.

"There's three keys that'll open the way to Termina," he said. "But they're all hidden across different periods of Hyrule's time. I guess so no one will let out that monster or whatever the evil thing is by accident."

"Who told you that?" Lana asked.

"My friend in Termina. She said she wanted to come, but she couldn't."

"What's her name?"

"She told me not to tell anyone that. I guess she's really nervous about meeting people."

Lana chuckled.

"I can understand that. Did she show you what the keys looked like?"

"Yep. They don't really look like keys. There more like these weird orb things. I can draw them for you."

"That's alright. I have a better way. Could I see your hands for a minute?"

Skull Kid held out his hands and Lana gently grasped them, shutting her eyes and searching through his mind for a perfect image of the keys. Skull Kid turned her right hand over in his, surprised to find a glowing Triforce symbol.

"Hey, you have a Triforce, too!" he said.

"Mm-hm." chirped Lana. "It's the Triforce of Power."

"Neat! What can you do with it?"

"Just watch. You're about to see something really neat."

She continued looking for Skull Kid's image of the keys, finding them with relative ease. Just like Skull Kid said, each was a large palm-sized orb and each bore the symbol of their respective goddesses. She opened her eyes and nodded, parting from Skull Kid and raising her hands in front of her after stepping back a little ways.

The group watched in wonder as a network of time periods appeared along the walls. Thousands and thousands of years across different lines of time all physically manifested before them, some they knew and many they didn't. Lana moved her hands, rotating the network until she found the three eras she wanted.

"I see them. One in a temple at the edge of a treacherous desert, one in a palace shrouded in the shadows, and one high in the sky within a dome of clouds. All in the same eras we visited before. The Spirit Temple, the Palace of Twilight, and the Thunderhead."

"That's what we were hoping for." said Zelda. "In that case, we should be able to find our former allies and enlist their help again."

"Perfect. I'll generate the gates."

Lana snapped her fingers, and a leather-bound tome appeared in her hands. She levitated it in front of her, telekinetically shifting through the pages as she hummed an incantation. She let the energy escalate until it manifested as a bright golden light in her hand, and when the incantation was finished, she cast the energy into the empty space in front of her. With that, three golden portals generated side-by-side, displaying their destinations on the other side.

"We'll get this done much faster if we split up." said Zelda. "Impa, you go to the Spirit Temple and see if you can find Darunia and Ruto. Link, you go to the Thunderhead. We definitely want Fi on our side, and she seems to trust you the most."

"What about you?" Link asked. "I don't doubt Midna and Agitha or anything, but…"

"It takes a princess to know a princess. I'll be fine."

"Alright, but you're not going by yourself. Mako, you go with the princess. Shanya, you go with Impa. Lana, you come with me."

Mako, Shanya, and Lana each nodded and lined up next to their companions. Epona stepped toward Link, desperately wanting to stay with him through thick and thin, but Link held out his hand. He sadly smiled and tenderly petted his steed's head.

"Sorry, girl. Coming with me where I'm going isn't a good idea. Go with Zelda, alright? She'll take good care of you."

Epona whinnied and nudged him. She was insisting, and Link somehow knew it wasn't because of sticking with what she knew but fearing for his safety.

"Don't worry. I've got Lana with me. I'll be fine."

Epona whinnied again, but nonetheless accepted her master's decision and walked up to Zelda who patted her side.

"Link will be fine, Epona." she said. "You have nothing to worry about…oh, and Skull Kid?"

Skull Kid snapped to attention. He had been about to ask what he could do before Zelda had spoken.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I'd like you to come with me. I want to know some more about this friend of yours."

"Umm…okay. There's not really a whole lot I can tell you, though."

"That's fine. Just stick close to me, alright?"

Skull Kid said nothing else and scurried next to Zelda. She didn't want to sound overtly suspicious, but it couldn't be helped. Skull Kid's appearance and the attack on Hyrule Castle happening at nearly the exact same time couldn't be a coincidence. She needed to know everything.

"Shanya!" Link called. "Do exactly what Impa tells you. She's the best soldier anyone could ask for."

Shanya nodded. It was difficult for her to venture anywhere with someone other than the two people she trusted most, but if her commander requested it, it would be done.

"And Mako!" Link continued. "You make sure you don't let the princess get hurt, got it? Protect her with your life."

"Gotcha. Can we get the show on the road now?" said Mako. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm actually kind of excited."

"I think I see why Link picked you." Zelda laughed.

Impa saluted her departing allies, particularly Zelda. She hated to leave the princess's side for even a moment for fear that something would happen to her, but it was by her demand that this task would be completed.

"Good luck, everyone!" she called. "May we all return safely and ready to face our new enemies!"

Impa and Shanya vanished into their portal, Zelda and her three companions walking into theirs some after. As Zelda entered, however, she turned to look at Link one last time. The sad smile she gave him caught him off-guard, as did the wave she gave him. He managed to work up his own smile and wave regardless, yet felt surprisingly empty as Zelda vanished. Lana noticed nearly immediately, cursing herself for her minor jealousy. She accepted that Link wasn't hers to have, and the fact that she still felt upset about that made her angry at herself. Nevertheless, that wasn't important now.

"Well," she said, motioning toward the last portal. "Should we get going?"

Link looked at the portal, then at Lana. He nodded, a look of determination set firmly on his face.

"Yeah. Let's do this."

They proceeded, Link keeping Zelda in his mind the entire time. He knew he'd see her again, so what was he getting so upset for? Was it really worth getting so down in the dumps that it hurt his chest?

No, that wasn't it. Chests weren't supposed to sting this much when people felt depressed.

"Agh…" he winced.

"What's wrong, Link?" Lana asked.

"Nothing…just got a little cramp in my chest for some reason."

"Just a cramp?"

"Don't worry about it. I can tough it out."

That may have been what he thought, but within him, Lana sensed something worse than a simple cramp. Far worse. Within the depths of Link's pure heart, she sensed a malevolent force that she hadn't sensed in a good deal of time now.

She knew it all too well, for it had once been a part of her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And thus begins the real adventure. Expect some familiar faces in the next chapter...or lines of text representing familiar faces since...never mind.<strong>_

_**On the subject of Lana, I've noticed she gets kind of mixed reactions compared to her evil counterpart. Some people like her because of her connection to Cia and the story of Hyrule Warriors, and some people really don't because she acts too much like a J-pop idol and her voice can get really annoying. I'm kind of on the fence about her for all of the above reasons, and in terms of actual gameplay, I gotta say that her Summoning Gate is (for me at least) probably the worst weapon in the game. I always dread having to use it against tougher enemies since it's slow and relative ineffective. Oh, well. The Book of Sorcery and the Deku Spear work well enough. Speaking of the Deku Spear, I can't help but think that it would have been perfect as Saria's weapon if she were playable.**_

_**Hint hint for next chapter. On that note, I'm out. **_


	5. Arrival in the Lost Woods

CHAPTER FIVE

**Arrival in the Lost Woods**

Impa and Shanya were the types to be prepared for anything, so when they appeared on the other side of their gate and ran into an army of ravenous wolf-like creatures, they hadn't been caught off-guard as these monsters had hoped. As the two warrior women dashed between the trees and through the numerous clearing in this strange and lovely forest, they hacked and slashed their way through the crowd of feral beasts as they searched hard for an exit.

Sadly, you and I know this place better than they did, and before long, they found that there were looping in an endless circle no matter how many times they passed through a hollowed tunnel they thought they hadn't gone done yet. Even when they were sure they weren't being chased, they found it more and more stressful the sooner they realized they weren't getting anywhere.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Impa shouted when she saw they were passing the same scratched tree for the sixty-fourth time (she was exaggerating, of course). "Can this forest just end already?"

They finally came to a stop and caught their breath. They'd figured retrieving the key from the Spirit Temple wouldn't be easy considering where exactly it was, but they didn't think for a second that their most pressing issue was getting lost in the woods. Quite frankly, it was humiliating.

Then Shanya patted Impa's shoulder, lightly tapping her ear. Listen, Shanya was commanding her, so she did. The enigmatic nature of the forest escalated when they heard a soft and cheery song echoing from somewhere deeper within the forest. A very intriguing little melody, but the question was whether or not it would lead them out of the forest.

"I suppose it's better than waiting for more monsters to come for us." Impa muttered. "Very well. Let's have a look."

They took off, examining each tunnel they came across to make sure they were going the right way. If the song got louder, they'd continue on. If not, they'd double back and try a different one. They encountered no monsters on the way there, suggesting that the Wolfos that had attacked them had just been some of the local wildlife.

Nevertheless, the melody got louder and louder until they entered a large clearing, a square stone entryway before them. It took no genius to assume this led straight into another maze. While its stone walls weren't sky high or anything, they were too high to try and climb up, leaving them no choice but to go straight through. At this point, Impa started thinking that she probably should have picked the Palace of Twilight. At least there she'd spend more time actually making herself useful than trying to figure out where the sam hell to go.

"Shall we?" Impa asked, a part of her hoping Shanya would suggest looking for another path.

But no. Shanya nodded, and the two dashed into the maze, making sure they stuck together out of fear one of them might end up getting trapped. That, and they could hear a slow thumping sound coming from around the corner accompanied by loud pig-like grunts.

Fittingly, when they peeked around the corner, they saw what they believed was a Moblin judging from its appearance, but it was far bigger than any Moblin they'd ever seen. Impa and Shanya looked at each other and nodded before stepping directly into the pig-man's line of sight. The moment he saw them, he let out a loud roar, pointed his spear forward and charged, clearly unaware of what the two women were capable of.

"Move!" Impa shouted to Shanya. "NOW!"

The two jumped away I opposite directions, kicking off their respective walls and propelling themselves toward the Moblin. With one powerful slash each, the great beast collapsed, but the roar he let out as he perished set off a chain reaction of other roars. Other Moblins in the labyrinth had been alerted to the warriors' presence, and they could already the pig-men coming for them. Not a very good thing when our two heroes didn't know this trap of stone and dirt like its guards did.

"Sounds like we just rang the bloody dinner bell…" Impa growled. "Let's go!"

They ran, turning their heads every so once in a while to spot the shadows of the Moblins coming after them. Not a welcoming sight, and neither was making a wrong turn and running into a dead end. As they ran back and took the opposite path, the Moblins rounded the corner quickly enough to spot them and increase their speed. They approached a fork in the road, and Impa got the perfect idea as she reached into her pocket.

"Hold on a second." she said.

Shanya rightfully looked at the Sheikah like she was insane, but remembered her commander's orders and obliged. The Moblins rounded the corner, saw their targets and charged headlong at them. Thus, Impa acted. She pulled the small gray sphere from her pocket and threw it down as hard as she could. When it struck the ground, it detonated into a cloud of smoke, obscuring the Moblins' vision long enough for Impa and Shanya to run down what they thought was the right way while the Moblins ran the opposite way once the smoke had cleared. As the stone walkway began to ascend, the two thought that they'd finally found their way out.

Well, they had judging from the dim light coming from the grassy path in front of them, but said exit was sadly blocked by (what else) another Moblin, this one slightly bigger and carrying a club as thick as his arm. The moment he saw the two women, he roared and slammed his club against the ground, generating a shockwave that shot toward them at lightning speed. They moved quickly, strafing around each subsequent shockwave, Impa showing off some impressive athletic skill as she ran along the wall and vaulted around behind the Moblin as he took a massive swing at her. Shanya meanwhile sidled by him once he was open, and before he could turn around to strike at the two again, the blades already sank into him and he dropped dead.

"Good moves!" Impa called to her companion.

She got no more than a simple nod in return. Though Impa could definitely say that Shanya was a worthy ally for successfully completing the Musou test in combination with what she had seen from her so far, she couldn't help but have her suspicions. Perhaps it was just in nature as a Sheikah: to expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything. With Shanya, though, she triggered so many warnings in Impa's head that it wasn't even funny. Her silence, her refusal to reveal her face, and even her attire gave her reason to suspect some kind of foul play.

Then again, she had the same feeling about Midna, Fi, and even Sheik before she was revealed to be Zelda. Perhaps it was indeed just an odd feeling.

Speaking of odd, the song had stopped right as Impa and Shanya had reached the stone staircase at the end of the path. They began their ascent slowly until they heard the roars of the other Moblins behind them. They sprinted upward, completely oblivious to any hazard that would present themselves what with a bigger one looming behind them.

The staircase led to a rather large clearing where a tree scaled upward, one of its branches hanging in front of the entrance of a stone temple, a stump sitting just a few feet from where Impa and Shanya had stopped. They took note of the tiny indents in the grass. Footprints. Fresh. Someone had been there recently.

And judging from the leaves rustling in the tree, that someone was still there.

"Hey, who's there?" Impa called.

No answer.

"Don't make me come up there! Show yourself!"

The leaves rustled again, and Impa could make out a pair of green eyes peeking around the leaves. Fixed on the two strangers in some form of curiosity. As Impa opened her mouth to bark out another order at the figure in the trees, Shanya tugged on her sleeve and pointed back the way they came. To Impa's frustration, the inevitable had happened: the twelve Moblins had caught up with them.

"Damn monsters…" Impa growled.

The Moblins charged and the women unsheathed their weapons, but before either of them could make a move, the Moblins were dealt with in the most peculiar way. Massive roots erupted from the round and seized the Moblins around their middles before slamming them against the walls and ground over and over again until the pig-men fell limp and lifeless, their corpses steadily dragged beneath the earth while Impa and Shanya watched in amazement and mild disturbance. The rustling came again, and as the two women turned this time, the figure hopped down from the branches above and gracefully landed in front of them.

The figure was a young girl who couldn't be more than twelve years old. Her emerald-green hair was rather short, hanging down to her neck. For clothing, she bore a slim green tunic in addition to a pair of green boots. She approached Impa and Shanya cautiously, but once she was within the proper distance and knew they weren't going to harm her, she spoke.

"You look like you could use some help."

"A green tunic…" said Impa. "Are you by chance a Kokiri?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

"Yes. My name is Saria."

"Saria? The Sage of the Forest?"

Saria blushed and scratched at the back of her head.

"Wow, that's getting around pretty fast, isn't it? It's kinda embarrassing…but yeah. That's me. Who are you?"

"I am Impa, and my companion is Shanya."

"Impa? Hmm…"

"What's the matter?"

"You don't really look like her, but it wouldn't be that farfetched…maybe a descendant? Yeah, Darunia said something about that…"

She realized what the Kokiri was talking about nearly immediately. She recalled that one of her distant ancestors was the Sage of Shadow, who was also named Impa. She wondered where this ancestor of hers was in this time, but decided it wasn't important. The mention of the legendary Goron chieftain is what interested her the most. He'd been a keen ally before, and the mission would prove much easier with his aid.

"Speaking of Darunia, you wouldn't happen to…oh, blast it all. Here come those wolves again."

Impa had indeed heard the howl of the Wolfos coming in their general direction, she and Shanya taking up their arms and preparing for whatever would come at them. To their surprise, Saria ran up to join them.

"Lady Saria, it is too dangerous for you here!" Impa half-shouted. "Please get to safety!"  
>"LADY Saria?" the Kokiri youth giggled. "I must be really famous where you're from. But don't you worry about me. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."<p>

As the Wolfos came into view, Saria closed her eyes and raised her arms skyward. Out of nowhere, a heavy wind picked up, blowing everything around like it was made of paper. Impa and Shanya watched in awe as a tornado of leaves circled around their Kokiri companion, and when she spoke, her voice boomed throughout the forest in a stark contrast to the quiet little girl one would perceive her as.

"Great Deku Tree!" she called. "Your child is in dire need of your help! Wherever you may be, grant me your strength!"

The whirlwind of leaves dwindled down and began to take shape into something else, something that Saria began stroke her hands along before it emitted a brilliant green flash. Nestled in Saria's hands was a thick tree branch, a blue sash wrapped around one end with a gold-encased emerald dangling from it. With her interesting weapon now in hand, Saria looked at her two companions with a determined smirk.

"Shall we?" she asked.

Impa smirked.

"I take it back. I'm impressed. But yes. Let's."

The Wolfos lunged and while Impa and Shanya quickly sprang into action, Saria held back for a moment. She planted her weapon into the ground, and it somehow split at one tip, a thick vine stretched between the two split ends. As the Wolfos approached Saria, a large cannonball-like nut dropped into the pocket on the vine and Saria pulled back as hard as she could, practically to the point of lying down on the ground behind her. Finally, she let the massive Deku Nut fly, the vine launched it full speed at the approaching monsters and striking them with such an explosive force that it sent them flying off in different directions.

"And that's how you do it!" the Kokiri cheered.

Impa and Shanya meanwhile continued approaching the situation blade-first, completely unafraid of getting a little dirty to get out of this forest alive. Saria joined them in a matter of a few short moments, her Deku Spear packing a surprisingly hefty punch as she twirled it about and struck the Wolfos in the head, chest, stomach, and groin to drive them back. Impa was admittedly impressed, but didn't have time to compliment her youthful companion on it. Really, she was marvelled she had even gotten to see a Kokiri in her lifetime, as they were either too well-hidden for anyone to find or completely extinct in her own time. Likely (and hopefully) the former since they reportedly rarely ever left the forest for fear of what they would encounter in the outside world.

"Impa, heads up!" Saria called.

Impa spun around just in time to spot three Wolfos jump at her at once. She swung hard, slashing and downing all three only to be left defenseless as a fourth came barreling toward her. Luckily, Saria was on top of her game, raising her weapon above her head. The power of the forest continued to mystify Impa, who watched in confused wonder as the spear morphed into an enormous leaf, the gust it generated blowing away the Wolfos as it foolishly tried coming closer. She drifted upward, vulnerable to an assault from underneath for but a moment before Shanya vaulted upward, slashing the feral beasts away and ensuring Saria a safe passage to the ground.

"Thanks!" Saria called to Shanya. "Always good to see someone's got my back!"

When her hooded companion didn't answer her, Saria raised an eyebrow, accompanied by a light smirk from Impa.

"If I knew why she didn't speak, I would tell you." said the Sheikah.

"Ooooookay, then." Saria said while still giving Shanya the same confused look. "She could at least acknowledge that I complimented her. I mean, sheesh."

"In any case, where's the way out of here?! It feels like we've been running around for a bloody hour!"

"Don't worry! I know this place like the back of my hand! Try to keep up, and make sure you've got my back!"

They were off, zipping through the hollowed tunnels with the Wolfos pack in hot pursuit. To buy themselves a little more time, Shanya threw her scythe behind her, causing it to slash the monsters away before returning to its owner's hands. Saria guided them north, west, east, east again, north again. Impa could certainly give her one thing by the end of it: Saria had a lot of guts and a picture-perfect memory if she knew these woods inside and out.

Unfortunately, so did the monsters as they cornered the three in a clearing, the most notable feature being a small pond. The only other path out was swamped with dozens upon dozens of Wolfos. Even with the three of them possessing superior strength, they were still massively outnumbered and without any means of escape.

"Uh oh…" Saria muttered. "Um…anyone got any bright ideas, 'cause now would be the time."

"Unfortunately no." Impa growled. "I would try the smoke bomb again, but I think these fellows are at least somewhat smarter than the idiots we fought earlier."

"Oh, man. Then that means we're…is that rain?"

"What are you SWEET NAYRU!"

With a pond of only so much water within it, it came as a genuine shock when a near tsunami-like wave came flying out of it. Impa, Shanya, and Saria had barely enough time to dive out of the way and take refuge in the closest tunnel. The Wolfos weren't as lucky, the wave washing over them and either slamming them against the dirt-and-rock walls or dragging them into the pond where they were unable to escape. Not that the three hadn't appreciated a rescue, but Impa was certainly looking forward to calling out their rescuer for nearly drowning them.

It looked like she would get that chance as they stepped out of the tunnel as a lovely young Zora woman suddenly vaulted out of the water, landing before the three with a sort of elegance that also came across as extremely showy. Impa recognized this girl almost immediately, and suddenly the wave made much more sense.

"Pleasure to see you again, Saria." the Zora chirped.

"You too, Ruto." Saria replied once she had regained her composure.

"That's it?"

The Kokiri groaned and rolled her eyes. It was just like the Zora princess to weasel compliments out of literally everybody she met. She was a very kind person when one got done to it, but it seemed that vanity and kindness could sadly co-exist within a person.

"Thank you, Lady Ruto. Where would we be without you?" she said sarcastically, biting her lip as she did so.

"In hot water, if you'll excuse the aquatic jokes." Ruto said with a smirk.

Impa scoffed, quickly catching Ruto's attention.

"Oh, it's you." she said. "Need me and Darunia to help you take down an evil sorceress again?"

"Funnily enough, yes." said Impa. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone by the name of Veran, would you?"

"I'm afraid not."

Saria butted in the second she got a grasp of what was going on. She was curious to know how Ruto knew this Impa who clearly wasn't their Impa, but that could wait for another time.

"As glad as I am that you just saved us, what are you doing here, Ruto?"

"Oh, damn." Ruto muttered to herself. "Can't believe I forgot about that!"

"What's wrong?"

"Darunia sent me! Death Mountain's under attack by the Gerudo!"

"The Gerudo?! What in the world for?! Isn't Nabooru still with them?"

"That's what I thought, but it looks like they're taking orders from these two old bags now. I didn't see Nabooru anywhere!"

Impa clenched her fists and gritted her teeth at the mere mention of the Gerudo. There wasn't a single aspect about the desert race that she liked. Even if they were admittedly unfairly segregated (at least in the time she and Shanya came from), that didn't excuse the terrible things they had done over the years. It wasn't just her agreeing with everyone's discontent for the race, however. It was personal. Even if Nabooru as the Sage of Spirit was a good person by default, that changed nothing in Impa's mind. Nothing would.

Then Ruto continued and made the situation even direr.

"But there's more." the Zora princess said. "These weird skeleton things started pouring in not a few minutes after they got ambushed. There's some knight leading them. They're not with the Gerudo, but they're sure as hell not with us."

"Onox." said Impa.

"Huh? …wait, he's not with you, is he?!"

"Certainly not. Don't be so quick to assume such nonsense."

Ruto quickly grew a flustered scowl at Impa so casually insulting her, but shook it off. She wasn't normally one to let things, so the Sheikah ought to have considered herself extremely lucky. At the very least, Saria was far more convincing simply by acting on her innocence.

"Impa? Shanya?" Saria asked. "Could the two of you help us? We'd really appreciate it."

Impa sighed. She wanted to get this mission over with and get back home as soon as possible, but she couldn't risk leaving anyone for dead. She looked at Shanya, who wore the determined expression she'd more or less come to expect from her.

"Alright." she said. "As much as I want to get our mission over with and return home, I can't say no to something like that. Besides, I'm in the mood for a little grudge match."

"Perfect!" said Ruto, running back toward the pond. "I'll meet you there! Hurry! I don't know how much longer the Gorons are gonna be able to hold out!"

Thus, Ruto dove into the water and vanished from sight. Saria turned to her two companions with a determined frown

"There's a shortcut to Goron City a little ways away from here." she said. "Come on, I'll show you where it is…oh, and don't mind Ruto. You get used to her after a while."

"Quite honestly," scoffed Impa. "I've already had a while and she still seems like more of a snob than I would like."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Not really too much to say about this one, other than I have to give the Kokiri a lot of credit. They don't want anything to do with the outside world. They don't want to get involved in wars and they don't want to grow up. They just wanna eat, sleep, play with their friends, and go exploring in the woods near their home. Just like hobbits, really.<em>**

_You might get asked what Zelda race you would be, and a lot of people would say a Goron or a Zora or even a Sheikah to make themselves sound badass. As much as I'd like to say one of those, let's face it: I would be a Kokiri. __**They're ****_u_pbeat fun-loving people that live quiet lives. Those are my kind of people.**_

**SOUNDTRACK SO FAR**

_**Musou test in the Faron Woods- **_"In the Greenwood" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Link, Mako, and Shanya versus Phantom Ganon- **_Phantom Ganon's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

_**Ambush on Hyrule Castle- **_"Under Siege" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Reinforcements- **_Legend of Zelda main theme (Hyrule Warriors version)

_**The Omega Fairy- **_"Kumite" from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Hyrule Warriors version)

_**Saria, Sage of the Forest- **_"Saria's Song" from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (look for a version by TheOnlyDeerAlive. Interesting name, but trust me.)


	6. Invasion of Ordon Village

CHAPTER SIX

**Invasion of Ordon Village**

Zelda and Mako had entered their gate prepared for anything, but the sight on the other sight was a surprisingly welcome one. They, Skull Kid, and Epona had appeared in a forest, a crystal clear fountain not far from where they stood. When they proceeded along the path and past a wooden gate, they found themselves descending down a hill into a small valley, and with that valley was a small but pretty little village. A river ran through the center with a few pumpkin patches dotted near its shores. Throughout the village were several surprisingly large houses, and as the four walked by, a few of the village folk looked up from the farming work. They looked surprised to see a Zora when Zora's Domain was on the other side of the country, and they looked even more surprised that someone as regal as Zelda had come to their town, but they nonetheless smiled and bid the travellers hello before going back to their work.

"Pretty nice little place, if I do say so myself." Mako said as he took another look around.

"Indeed." Zelda said with a smile.

As Skull Kid lightly tugged on her sleeve, Zelda turned to him.

"Where's Epona going?" he asked.

Zelda wondered this too as the mare stepped away from them, but as she looked where Epona was going, she grew evermore curious. Crouched in the nearby flowers was a very familiar figure: a young girl garbed in a frilly butterfly-themed dress, looking about ten years of age and having her blonde hair tied back in pigtails. She paid no attention to Epona as the mare approached, opting instead to search around in the grass for whatever it was she was looking for. It wasn't until Epona whinnied when she was a foot or so away that the girl finally looked up. The smile on the girl's face was perhaps one of the most adorable things Zelda and Mako had ever seen, and her cheery voice only added to this factor.

"Why, hello, Miss Horse!" she chirped as she stood up to pat Epona's snout.

Epona sputtered and gently nudged the girl, getting a soft laugh out of her as the mare's three companions approached the girl. Skull Kid in particular drew rather close to her, a little shy as anyone like him would be. The warm smile that the girl gave him when she saw him didn't help matters much, but he was at the very least able to answer her.

"Oh, my!" she said. "What a lovely mask!"

"Thanks!" Skull Kid said happily. "What's in your basket?"

The girl giggled and reached into the basket hanging from her arm, producing a small jar and holding it out for Skull Kid to get a good look. He gently took it and peered through the glass. Within the jar was a sizable mound of dirt with a few twigs and leaves jutting out. Flitting to and fro on the dirt was a small colony of ants, and nestled on one leaf was a tiny caterpillar picking parts of the leaf off and eating them.

"You collect bugs? That's so cool!"

"Thank you! …oh, pardon me. Where are my manners? I've forgotten to introduce myself!"

The girl spun in a circle on her heel and dipped into a tiny curtsey, all with that same adorable smile accompanying her rosy cheeks.

"You hold an audience with the princess of the insect kingdom! Agitha is my name!"

"Wait a moment." said Zelda. "I remember you! You fought alongside us against Cia!"

"Pardon? …oh, yes! I remember now!"

With that said, Agitha came rushing up to Zelda and curtseyed again. From one princess to another, it seemed, even if Agitha was only under the impression that she was a princess. Regardless of that, Zelda let out a soft chuckle and nodded her head in respect.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Princess Zelda!" said Agitha.

"You as well, Princess Agitha." said Zelda. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I sent out invitations to many high-class bugs so they could come to my castle for a royal ball. It seems they got lost along the way, though."

"Well, that's not good. What bugs were they exactly?"

Agitha tapped her cheek for a moment as she pondered, Skull Kid tilting his head in curiosity as she did so.

"Well," she started. "I believe there were ants, mantises, snails…one of each gender, of course."

"What about spiders?" Skull Kid asked.

He didn't realize how ridiculous that question sounded to Agitha until she scowled and drew away from him like he was about to set off a bomb.

"Don't be ridiculous! Spiders have no place around me or in my castle! Carnivorous savages, the lot of them!"

Ignoring the fact that a lot of insects also eat other insects, Mako smirked.

"There's something we share in common. I could do without spiders putting webs all over the place for me to run into…" (here he shuddered) "Especially stinkin' Skulltulas."

"I know, right?!" Agitha cheered. "Finally someone who doesn't argue that webs are 'the strongest of natural fibers" like it actually means something."

"Uh-huh…anyway, I'm Mako. Our equine friend who introduced herself to you is Epona."

Epona sputtered again, getting another laugh out of Agitha who gently scratched behind her ears.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Mako! And you as well, Lady Epona!" Agitha said cheerily before she turned to Skull Kid. "And what's your name, young page?"

"Page?" Skull Kid replied, scratching the back of his head. "I'm Skull Kid. I don't know anything about any 'page'? What even is a page?"

"A young knight. I'm calling you a page because you look like a young knight, and it's always nice for knights to have something to…"

"Girls talk too much."

Agitha raised her eyebrow, not sure whether to be offended or to laugh at Skull Kid's brash comment (Mako and Zelda responding with the latter). She did, however, know an obvious villain when she heard one, and the sickly cackling immediately clued her in to the alignment of the violet-robed creature that suddenly popped into view.

"Already looking to spoil the fun, eh, princess?" Wizzro snickered.

"Oh, hush up, you little cretin!" Zelda growled, drawing her rapier and pointing it at the sorcerer. "You have no business here!"

"Don't I? This is a quaint little town. It would really be a shame if something happened to it…well, a shame for you. Me, on the other hand? I'd be happy to raze it to the ground!"

Mako and Zelda swung at Wizzro simultaneously, Wizzro himself disappearing in a puff of purple smoke and leaving a round of his vile laughter in its wake. As he vanished, the warriors and villagers heard loud shrieks from a fair distance away as a frantic man came charging down the hill screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Everybody get inside!" he shouted. "There's monsters on the way! GET INSIDE NOW!"

"And that's our cue." said Zelda, tightening her grip on her sword as she saw the first of the undead monsters start to come up over the hill.

The villagers rightfully fled, running into their homes and locking the doors praying they'd live to see the nightfall. As Mako and Zelda held their blades at the ready and Skull Kid's mask started to glow, Agitha skipped forward.

"Ooo, zombies!" she giggled. "Have they come for a ball? I'm sure we can find some lovely maidens for them."

"Uhhh…what?" said Mako. "Don't you notice the swords and the roaring and the bloody bandages and…well, the fact that they're zombies!"

"I noticed. The undead need love, too!"

"Riiiiiight…anyway, kid, get inside before you get hurt!"

In a strangely amusing show of defiance, Agitha put one hand on her hip and pointed at Mako like a mother scolding her child.

"Don't forget you are in the presence of royalty, mister! Don't take that tone with me!"

"I think what she means to say is that she's actually a fairly competent fighter, Mako." said Zelda, though smiling at Agitha's display. "Trust me, I've seen it. We can count on her."

Mako shot the princess a look basically asking whether or not she'd sniffing fairy dust. It wasn't just because Agitha didn't appear to have a weapon on her, but because of her age. He just couldn't accept the idea of a ten-year old girl taking on hordes of the undead trying to rip her face off. But he didn't get this far into his knighthood from doubting people's abilities.

"Alright," he finally said. "You're sure you can handle these guys? And I don't mean like a little sure. Are you a hundred percent positive you can handle them?"

"Mm-hm!" Agitha chirped. "The little bugs will be glad to help me!"

"Awesome."

The various undead soliders didn't even pay any attention to their environment. The moment they saw Zelda, they charged toward her and her small ensemble of warriors. Even if it was just the five of them, Zelda showed no fear. She mounted Epona and held her sword skyward.

"Now, everyone!" she shouted. "To arms!"

Mako led the charge, beheading the closest Stalfos, kicking its head away like a ball, and bowling over a good deal of the smaller monsters. A fury of slashes mowed down a good number of the beasts before him, and once Skull Kid brought a very interesting talent into the fray, it got even more chaotic.

The imp lifted part of his mask up as he reached into his pocket. Not enough for anyone to see his face, but enough that he was able to raise the horn he produced to his unseen mouth and blow hard. As soon as the sound rang out, five scarecrow-like marionettes with red eyes and creepy smiles dropped down from seemingly nowhere and formed a perfect shield around their master.

"Let's get 'em!" Skull Kid shouted.

Moving in perfect synchronization with their master, the marionettes glided along the ground, their arms outstretched and their fingers surprisingly sharp. When the masked puppet master began swinging his arms, they mimicked his every move and cut down all before them. Skull Kid thrust his hands forward, the marionettes bowling over all the undead creatures in their path as they charged, and when Skull Kid finally decided to cap off his impressive display and snap his fingers, the marionettes glowed orange. Then red. Then white before finally exploding and launching anything caught in the blast radius.

"Well, we certainly know that YOU can fight, buddy." said Mako, still trying to grasp A: where the marionettes had come from, and B: why they had exploded. "How about you, Agitha? I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but you've really gotta start showing off some proper fighting skills."

Agitha's response to him (frowning and blowing a raspberry at her Zora companion ) didn't impress him, but her response to the approaching enemies ready to run her through certainly did. As they approached, Agitha reached into her basket for a moment before flinging her arm forward. Just like that, a swarm of golden butterflies surged outward and slammed into the undead beasts, bowling them over as Agitha dashed toward the nearest Stalfos. As the skeleton raised its sword, Agitha frowned at it as though that would stop it.

"How rude!" she exclaimed.

It seemed she had more upper body strength than Mako gave her credit for demonstrated when she slapped the Stalfos hard across the face. It reeled backward, teetering about for a few moments before it fell over and clattered into a mess of bones on the ground. As dozens upon dozens of the monsters continued to approach her, she reached into her basket again and produced another oddity: a stag beetle. She placed it on the ground before her, a strange glowing circle enclosing the armoured insect as Agitha began muttering an incantation under her breath. The circle glowed brighter as the monsters drew closer, and once they were within range, she let loose.

"Now squish 'em!" she called.

With a bright flash of light, the beetle grew to the size of an adult Dodongo and charged forward. It bowled over every monster it came across, reaching into the nearby river with its mandibles and producing a large boulder which it then threw at the closest mob of monsters. As another mob closed in around Agitha, the beetle leapt high into the air, spreading the wings under its shell and surging downward with such a force that the shockwave it generated was enough to launch everything in its path. Agitha applauded her giant insect friend, swiftly catching it as it shrank back to its normal size.

"Well done, Sir Beetle!" the "princess" giggled. "Well done indeed!"

"Agitha, head sup!" Skull Kid shouted.

Agitha turned just in time to see a Stalfos raising its blade over her. As she was about to try and strafe out of the way, Zelda's rapier pierced the undead monster's skull and bowled it over.

"Keep your wits about you, Agitha!" Zelda called. "These beasts have no understanding of mercy!

"Okay…" Agitha said before squinting her eyes at the next approaching mob. "What the heck are those things?"

The creatures in question were tall, lanky, and mummified creatures quickly approaching as they dragged their massive blades behind them. Their red eyes locked onto their targets, but with their rotting mouths hung open and their entire bodies slouching over as they moved, it diminished their overall threat in the eyes of Mako and Skull Kid. Zelda knew better, however.

"ReDeads!" she called back. "Keep an eye out for when they roar! Those shockwaves will freeze you on the spot!"

As if on cue, the closest ReDead opened its mouth wider at let out a groggy howl aimed at Mako. The pale shockwave shooting from the beast's mouth reeked and felt cold as the young Zora just barely dodged it, but he nonetheless cleared it in time to toss one of his knives straight into the ReDead's skull. Like a moth to a flame, Mako bolted toward his knife and withdrew it.

"Sorry about that." he mocked. "You don't mind if I take this back, do you?"

The ReDead let out an unnerving moan as it fell backward and didn't move.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

Another ReDead lazily slashed at Agitha, who simply stepped out of the way and giggled every single time.

"Come on, Mr. Zombie!" she laughed. "You have to try harder than that!"

The ReDead growled and lunged at her with its stiff arms, again missing when she stepped out of the way and continued taunting it. At last, it grew fed up and unleashed its paralyzing roar. With this being the only reasonably quick attack it had in addition to Agitha not expecting it, she had no time to get out of the way before she was frozen in place. An unnatural cold ran through her body as the vapour touched her tender skin, and when her muscles seized up and she found she couldn't move her arms and legs, she looked on in horror as the ReDead began raising its blade.

Luckily, one of the insect princess's comrades sprang to the rescue, pushing her out of the way just as her attacker swung its blade down at her.

"Are you okay?" Skull Kid asked after releasing a blast that sent the ReDead flying away, the reaction he got being the complete opposite of what he expected.

"Oh, no, my dress is filthy now!" Agitha whined as she spotted a tiny speck of dirt smearing the dress's hem and looked at Skull Kid like he was the worst person in the world. "And it's all your fault! Who do you think you are, pushing a princess aside like that?!"

"Uh, I think I'm the guy that just saved your life? I think the words you're looking for are 'thank you'?"

"Quit fooling around over there, you two!" Mako shouted. "We're not done yet!"

Skull Kid, though still irritated at Agitha's childish response to her rescue, hauled her to her feet and brushed the light bit of dirt off of her. Without another word, he turned and charged toward his undead foes once more, completely unaware that Agitha was looking at him with a mixture of gratitude for rescuing her, resentment for getting her dirty (completely failing to see the irony caused by her pastime), and something little girls tend to feel toward boys who are nice to them…

…hey, I think it's been well-established that Agitha's just plain weird, so don't give me that look!

As Zelda slashed away at the ReDeads and Stalfos from atop Epona's back, she failed to notice Wizzro suddenly rematerialize a short distance from her with the same vile grin on his face that just made everyone want to bash his skull in (if he had one, that is). He raised his hand toward the clueless princess, a violet aura starting to form in his palm until he heard the sound of a blade being drawn behind him.

"Don't even think about, freak." Mako growled.

Wizzro's response was to fire a mighty pulse from his body, sending Mako sliding back enough to give him some space. Mako lunged at the dark wizard again, strafing out of the way of the spheres Wizzro tossed at him. The young Zora's smirk as he vaulted away from every attack at lightning speed was enough to irritate Wizzro out of sparing him, at last culminating in generate a massive hand from his chest.

"You wanna play rough, Zora?!" Wizzro shouted.

"I'm the king of playing rough, mac!" Mako laughed as he dodged the massive hand making a grab at him.

"Then you're about to be dethroned!"

"Y'know, I heard that you were real hammy, but that's just ridiculous."

It seemed it didn't matter. Mako once again let his cockiness get the better of him and tried to make a slash at Wizzro, only to be seized by the massive hand and slammed against the ground numerous times almost to the point of a concussion. The dark wizard laughed at his young opponent's suffering before throwing him away like a piece of garbage. As Mako hit the ground, he let out one small yelp of pain, unable to will himself to his feet against his dizziness. The cackling Wizzro began to home in on his target as a blade materialized into his hand.

"Not so amusing now, is it?" he cackled.

Wizzro had no intentions of showing mercy to the incapacitated Zora, but thankfully the young lad that suddenly appeared from nowhere had no intentions of showing mercy to Wizzro. A single slash with the blade that was far too large for him was all it took for Wizzro to reel backward in pain and glare at the boy in fury.

"Get out of the way, kid!" he growled. "You have to wait your turn like everybody else!"

The blonde-haired youth tensed the grip on his blade and furrowed his brow. He wouldn't let this monster intimidate him. He'd learned enough from the greatest men he knew to know this thing didn't deserve that kind of satisfaction.

"I'm not going anywhere until you get out of this village!" the boy shouted.  
>"Hmph. Big words from a little human. Who do you think you are? A knight?"<p>

"My name is Colin, and I don't need to be a knight to take you down."

"Certainly not. You also don't need to be an adult for me to skin you alive, you little brat!"

Wizzro slashed at Colin, the surprisingly nimble youth rolling out of the way and countering with a short series of stabs. The young boy blocked, countered, and dodged whenever it was necessary, and after he landed a few successful hits and given Mako enough time to push himself to his feet and shake off the dizziness. As Wizzro lunged too fast for Colin to block, the young Zora blocked the blow and repulsed the dark wizard just in time, giving his rescuer a warm smile.

"Thanks, buddy." he said. "I owe you one. Whattaya say we show this punk how we do things downtown?"

"Downtown?" Colin asked with a raised eyebrow. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Never mind. Let's just kick his ass!"

Wizzro growled. He had expected some resistance from these people, but did they have to be so obnoxious about it? He hated humans and Zoras enough without them rubbing humiliation in his face.

"Two against one?" he asked. "That hardly seems fair. Oh, boys?!"

With a snap of his fingers, Wizzro summoned another massive legion of Stalfos and ReDeads, all lunging at Colin and Mako and all getting mowed down in their own special way. Whether it was by Mako's quick spin attack or Colin's slow yet strong single swings, the undead soldiers fell in droves at their feet. Wizzro suddenly jumped back into the fray, and with a loud cackle, he unleashed a massive beam of energy. As the beam approached its intended targets, however, a certain little imp glided in and caught in with one hand.

"You stupid little…" Wizzro growled.

He pushed harder, Skull Kid still effortlessly holding the beam back before finally redirecting it. The energy slammed into Wizzro and knocked enough energy out of him to force him to drift back down to the ground, and that was when Epona trampled toward him. It seemed it didn't matter what time or world one was in: getting kicked in the face by a horse was still one of the most painful things that could happen in a big fight.

"Not gonna lie, pal." Mako said, stifling a massive round of laughter when Wizzro went sprawling to the ground. "I kinda feel bad for ya 'cause that looked like it hurt!"

"Gee, you think?" Wizzro growled. "Ah, blast it all."

With the five warriors preoccupied with the steadily dwindling numbers of the undead, Wizzro demonstrated his cowardice and began fleeing. As Colin brought down another ReDead with a mighty stab, he spotted Wizzro out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't get away. Not after what he had tried to do here.

"Stop!" he shouted.

"Kid, hold up!" Mako called after him.

Too late. Colin had already broken into a sprint and had just about cleared the distance between him and his target when…

"Where did he…oh, crap!"

Wizzro had vanished just when Colin had raised his sword, and his place was a ring of the undead surrounding the helpless boy. He held his blade firm, ready to fight to the death if that was what it took. As the first undead monster raised its blade, however, something even stranger happened. It started as a soft ringing in the air, a shadow drawing Colin's attention skyward. High above him was a strange black-and-red portal, bits of black matter drifting down from it and settling into several piles on the ground.

The piles of matter suddenly took shape, revealing dozens upon dozens of Darknuts. Colin feared additional adversity, but breathed a sigh of relief when the knights attacked the beasts surrounding him. With their armour as thick as could be, the ReDeads and Stalfos had no hope of defeating them and fell to their blades in a matter of moments, as did the remaining undead forces pouring in from the other side of the valley.

Then Colin spotted their leader nearby, gazing around the battlefield with a somewhat disinterested look. Witnessing the monsters fall before her small yet effective army forced a smirk onto her violet lips.

"Good work, boys. Wouldn't expect any less from you."

She paid no attention to Colin until he pointed his blade at her. As expected from someone like her, she found it more amusing than anything else. She was sure he was a good kid when it really came down to it, but there was no way she could take him seriously when he could barely hold his sword right.

Or when he made an attempt to threaten her and came off as more adorable than scary.

"Demon! You're here to ransack our home, too?!" he yelled.

In truth, he was trying his absolute best not to look scared out of his wits. Wizzro was one thing what with him being no more than a short mass of a cloak, but this woman literally towered over him, staring down at him with her leering yellow-and-red eyes and instantly making him regret those harsh words. Her sly smile didn't help matters much, regardless of her being probably one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen in his life.

"How cute." she chirped. "And that's not sarcasm, mind you."

Colin gritted his teeth and clenched his grip on his sword before charging headlong at her. The woman chuckled to herself before gently swaying her hand. All of a sudden, it felt like Colin had just slammed into a brick wall, his sword skittering away in an instant. Even know that he was dazed and unarmed, he still tried to look tough as he raised his fist. The woman simply smirked.

"You know, that really isn't any way treat your rescuer." she said. "Don't I get a thank you?

She didn't. Nothing but a fiery glare as Colin tried to keep his cool. She laughed before gracefully stepping forward, bending over and gently stroking Colin's chin with her fingers. Colin didn't know why he didn't move away, but maybe it had something to do with the two Darknuts standing behind him with their blades still drawn.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" the woman asked.

"Colin." Colin said defiantly, just barely hiding the intimidation welling up in him.

"Colin, I'd like you to look into my eyes for a second. Tell me. What do you see?"

"…I…I don't…what do you…"

"Aww, what's wrong? Am I scaring you?"

Colin didn't need to answer when the woman heard the distinct sound of a sword leaving its sheath. She nonchalantly looked over and leered at the angry man pointing his blade under her chin. She at first wondered how this man even had it in him to try and stand up to someone such as her, but she was able to put two-and-two together fairly quickly, particularly when Rusl spoke.

"Back away from my son right now, witch."

The woman smirked at him. She had been wondering where the boy's father had been this whole time, and she definitely admired his courage and love for his son. Still, that didn't change the fact that she was who she was.

"Dare I ask where you were this whole time while your son was fighting undead monsters out here?"

"He is a brave boy." Rusl said, never once taking his eyes off her. "He could have very well killed you."

"Really, now? Could have fooled me."

Before things could get any worse, a regal voice called the woman's name.

"Princess Midna."

Midna turned her attention to the approaching Zelda and her company, a wave of familiarity washing over her in an instant.

"Princess Zelda!" she chirped in an oddly haughty tone. "How good to see you again. I, uh, hope you don't mind my cavalry here."

"Certainly not. Thank you for your assistance. We weren't expecting Wizzro to bring such an army with him to a small village like this."

"By now, that shouldn't surprise you. Anyhow, back for another witch hunt?"

"Actually, no. We…"

Before Zelda could say anything more, one of the Darknuts tapped Midna on the shoulder.

"Forgive my intrusion, my queen." he said. "But we should not waste any more time here. We cannot risk him getting beyond our vision."

"Yes, I know."

Midna turned to Zelda and her company and gave a quick nod.

"Sorry I can't chat. I have a little business to attend to elsewhere. I'd really appreciate it if you didn't interfere this time. He seems more…agitated this time."

"He?" Zelda asked. "…Zant?"

"Hit the nail right on the head. Now excuse me. I gotta go bury the nail alive."

Without another word, Midna turned and led her army away and out of the valley, leaving the townspeople to steadily come out of their homes and breathe a collective sigh of relief. Colin meanwhile took the time to try and calm down after such a close encounter the femme fatale of a princess. Rusl showed just as much concern as a good father would, kneeling in front of his son and checking him all over for injuries.

"What in the world were you thinking, Colin?!" he said in a panic-stricken tone. "You could have gotten yourself hurt out there!"

"I know, but…" Colin started. "I had to help."

Zelda smiled and placed a soft kiss on the young boy's cheek. He promptly flushed bright red.

"And we are eternally grateful for your help, Colin." the princess said. "But your father is right. What you did was brave but very dangerous."

"Man, forget that." Mako scoffed. "You're tellin' me THAT was Midna? The 'Twilight Princess' I've heard so much about?"

"Yes. And?"

"…well, she's a beauty, I'll give her that much, but really? She doesn't seriously expect to get a boyfriend acting like that, does she?"

If they could see Skull Kid's face, they would see that he had raised an eyebrow and had the thought to say something that would crash and burn Mako in an instant, but Rusl spoke first.

"In any case, welcome to Ordon Village, Princess Zelda." he said with a small bow. "My name is Rusl."

"Well met, Rusl." said Zelda. "I'm afraid we can't stay, though. My comrades and I are seeking the Palace of Twilight…and unfortunately, our means to entering the palace seems to want us to stay far away."

"I see. Nonetheless, you don't really have a choice in the matter by the sound of it. By the looks of it, she should be heading for Kakariko."

"Thank you. It might take some time getting there, though. This Hyrule is much different from our own."

"Your own?"

Mako and Zelda found it rather cute when Agitha tried her best to explain it to them, but her rambling on for a few minutes and trying to tell Rusl and Colin about the adventure she had been on with Zelda and the rest of her army. However, it seemed she had only succeeded in confusing them even more. Once Rusl had finally heard enough, he stepped in.

"Look, Kakariko is a really long ways away from here and you may not realize but you're all tired from that big fight. Why don't you all stay here in Ordon for the night and we'll take you there in the morning?"

"Are you sure that's okay?" Mako asked. "We're gonna get in some pretty nasty scrapes on the way to the Palace of Twilight."

"No, no, it's alright. I have to head to Kakariko to drop something off for a friend of mine, anyway. Colin and I will be glad to take you there."

Zelda smiled and nodded.

"Wonderful. Agitha, would you like to come with us as well?"

As though Zelda even needed to ask.

"Of course! I'll need a royal cavalry on the way back to my castle, and it's always great to travel with a bunch of friends! I'd be glad to help you in the meantime!"

"Excellent." said Rusl with a smile. "While you're here, I'd appreciate it if you could try to explain your story a little better."

"But I just explained it!"

Somehow they all got the feeling that this was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hoo, boy, sorry this one took so long. School's kinda starting to take its toll on me, but I'll get through it.<strong>_

_**You know how I said last chapter that I would be a Kokiri if I were any race in the Zelda series? Well, time for another confession: as weird as she is, I'd love to have Agitha as a little sister. I realize this might make me lose a few man points, but I don't really care. She's just so damn adorable!**_

_**Another confession relating to the actual games: Twilight Princess is not only my favorite Zelda game. It's my favorite game of all timey. Yeah, there's some parts about that kinda suck. The graphics are pretty dated (though to be fair, the game is almost ten years old now, so of course they are), the Lakebed Temple and the City in the Sky wound up getting me stuck more than a few times, Midna can be a bit annoying all though she's still a very likable character, and as cool as he is in the game, Ganondorf is kinda phoned in. Regardless of that, ****unless Zelda for Wii U does something to top it (which it looks like it very well might), Twilight Princess will likely stay at the top of my list for a pretty long time to come.**_

**_And yes. I would like a Twilight Princess HD provided they added some new stuff to it. _****_Anyhow, enough of the sentimental stuff. Next chapter, we make for Skyloft!_**

**SOUNDTRACK SO FAR**

_**Musou test in the Faron Woods- **_"In the Greenwood" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Link, Mako, and Shanya versus Phantom Ganon- **_Phantom Ganon's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

_**Ambush on Hyrule Castle- **_"Under Siege" from Hyrule Warriors

_**Reinforcements- **_Legend of Zelda main theme (Hyrule Warriors version)

_**The Omega Fairy- **_"Kumite" from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Hyrule Warriors version)

_**Saria, Sage of the Forest- **_"Saria's Song" from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (look for a version by TheOnlyDeerAlive.)

_**Invasion of Ordon Village- **_"Hyrule Field" from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Hyrule Warriors version)


End file.
